Final Destination: Last Laugh
by BTolson23
Summary: Book Three of the World's End Chronicles. Confined at the Saviour V Monitoring Facility, Rose Milano spends her daily life as Sub-Director, working away the days in relative comfort - a comfort that is shattered when a Vision invades her mind. Unsure of what is to come, yet knowing she has to do something, Rose stages a daring escape in order to save the lives of those in danger.
1. Prologue - The Touch of Death

**Prologue**

 **The Touch of Death**

The humid evening was in full force as Salma and Tarek sat in the El Khandek El Qably park, situated in the middle of the thriving city of Alexandria. Salma was pretty, with tanned skin and a bright smile, straight brown hair running down her shoulders in rivulets. Tarek was broad of shoulder and somewhat short, yet made up for it with that cunning glint in his eye that he always had. The two of them had been dating for nearly a year now and both felt like it may just be time to move further.

Salma was certainly expecting him to pop the question any second now. Throughout the whole evening he seemed to be distracted, yet focused. Not like Tarek at all. He would often give her the side-eye when he thought she wasn't looking, yet Salma caught it each time. There was nothing else it could be… they had jokingly laughed about the question a number of times over the last year and Tarek had always said that _if_ he were to ask her, then it would be in a park just like this one, with the stars high above them and the night just settling in.

So far, everything had been exactly as he had told her it would be.

Tarek sat staring with his hands clasped, looking through the dry trees, past the bushes that lined the park, and straight at the line of white buildings that made up the Salah Mostafa road, though it was clear he wasn't paying it any attention at all.

"Bimadha tafkr?" Salma prompted, gently rubbing Tarak's shoulder, feeling the firm muscle under his loose shirt. She didn't want to push him to it but she had to admit that she was getting slightly impatient. Then again, she supposed it must have been nerve-wracking for Tarak.

Tarak glanced at Salma and smiled. "'Ana 'ufkir hadha hu alkamalu."

"Almuntzah?"

"Kl shaa'." His voice was deep and velvety and always managed to send shivers down her spine. "Alnujum fi alsama'… Nafkhat bahitat min hayat almadina…" His dark eyes peered around. "Fi 'ahsan al'ahwal," he repeated. Then he stood up and Salma felt a tremble run through her body all over again. Tarak slowly walked in front of her as she sat on the bench and put a hand in the pocket of his shorts. "Salma… Waqad kan hdha aleam almadi rayieatan lilghaya…" He smiled softly and his eyes twinkled and Salma was glad she _was_ sitting. Chances were she would have lost her footing had she been standing. "Wa'aetaqid 'ana aleam alqadim min hayatuna yjb 'an yakun 'afdal…" Tarak lifted his hand from his pocket and Salma could clearly see that he was holding something within his fist.

For a moment Tarak seemed unsure but his eyes suddenly moved past Salma's shoulder, behind the bench. His dark eyes widened. "Madha?" The question was quiet but full of shock. Salma twisted in the bench to see what Tarak was seeing and her own eyes widened.

Something white was floating six foot off the ground, rotating slowly. Salma's eyes could hardly process the fact that it was a perfect white skull, completely unmarred with glistening teeth. She could only stare – along with Tarak – as the skull came to a stop and seemed to look right at them with its black-holed eye sockets. Then something dropped from behind the skull, extending downwards. A spinal cord, each segment popping into existence as if someone were painting on the air.

Salma and Tarak were speechless. They couldn't process what they were seeing as bleached white bones jutted out, forming a ribcage. Then something moved from within the skull and red strands shot out, wrapping themselves around the skull in a tight weave. They watched in amazed, unbelievable stupor as muscles wrapped around the bones that grew. They watched veins stitch themselves through the muscle and watched organs grow from nothing like forbidden fruits. The heart pumped once within the ribcage and shoots of blood started pulsing out before being hidden by muscles that criss-crossed over the chest.

One foot hit the dry earth of the ground – nothing but muscle and sinew – before a coating of dark, ebony skin wrapped around it like an obscene bandage. The skin continued up, past the calves and thighs, coating both legs as it moved up the groin, belly, and chest. The arms followed next as the skin crept up the red-muscled neck, finally stretching over the grotesque muscles on the skull to become a face with closed eyes. The jaw-line was strong, the nose steeped, and the cheeks flat; If either Tarak or Salma could get past their stupor, they would have realized this face was extremely handsome.

The figure stood behind the bench, completely naked and completely hairless. Then the smooth, dark skin of the eyelids opened and eyes that were completely white stared at Salma. Then it opened its mouth.

Whatever words it spoke – if they were words – were a language neither of the two shell-shocked figures could recognize. " _Where are my children?"_ The figure closed its mouth and narrowed its eyes, taking a single step towards the bench.

This step seemed to take Tarak out of his stupor. He blinked, shook his head, and quickly moved in front of the bench protectively. "'Ana la 'aerif min 'ant walakun ealayk 'an tatrk!"

The naked man opened his mouth again and this time the words were in the Arabic that came natural to Tarak and Salma. " _'Ayn 'atfali?"_

"La tati ayu 'aqarab!" Tarak stood his ground before the man as he came closer. This man's gait seemed strange – almost robotic. His arms swung back and forth and his legs jerked forward. Yet still he came. "'Ant, la—"

But the man continued to walk unsteadily forward, unfazed by Tarak who stood before him. He raised his hand and directed it towards Tarak.

"La taqturuba! 'Ana 'ahdhiruk!" Tarak continued. The man frowned and glanced to his hand.

He took another step forward.

"Tawaquf ean dhilk!" This time Tarak slapped away the man's hand. However, the moment his tan skin touched the naked man's own ebony skin, Tarak fell to the ground without warning. His legs buckled and his shoulder crashed into the dirt at the man's feet. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes were dull.

"Tarak!?" Salma rushed over to her boyfriend, mouth agape. She crouched down next to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Tarak! Tarak!"

"Fata," the man spoke in that deep, hypnotizing voice of his. Salma looked up with wide, wet eyes. " _Ayn 'atfali?_ "

"I-I la… 'ana la 'afham… madha faealt… madha feealt I Tarak?" Tears started running down Salma's cheeks. She didn't understand, couldn't comprehend what had just happened. This man had just _appeared_ as if from nowhere and with but a touch Tarak was on the floor, not moving, not _breathing._

"Lykan," the man said and reached forward, putting one smooth hand on Salma's cheek. Salma froze for a moment, eyes wide. A single tear dropped from her chin and she tilted to the side, falling next to her boyfriend with eyes just as dulled as his. The naked man simply walked past them, leaving the couple to their lonely deaths. His head turned left and right as he walked, his movements more natural now, less stiff and more flexible.

He followed the path down until he came across an old woman sitting on a bench, looking wistfully into the trees. Her eyes focused on the man behind her glasses and she let out a small gasp.

" _Ayn 'atfali_?" Once more the man asked, peering down at the woman. The old woman merely shook in primal fear, her teeth chattering and her hands shaking. The man raised his hand and the woman stiffened, that look of fear frozen on her face, before she fell forward in a heap onto the dirt. The man raised his hand and looked at it, letting a small smile play over his face. Then he peered over the tree-line to see lights shining up into the night sky. Once more he started to move, this time looking as natural as a human being.

* * *

"Miro, wa'ana la 'aerif eank walakun 'aetaqid Ammar hu safqat mae hdha wahd," the smooth voice of George Gamal said into his microphone, glancing to his co-commentator in the booth with him.

"George, watati Alana, hia, la 'aqsid 'an 'akun waqhaan walakun muta'akid, Ammar jaydt, walakun hdha laeib wahid faqt," Under a head of white hair Miro beckoned down the pitch down below. "El Oympi ladayh ahd eshr min 'afdal alllaeibin Alexandria lhda aleardu. Kunt tafeal alriyadiaati, George."

"Miro, mushahidatan wanaraa. Hunak sbb yasmunah Ammar maejazat alrajli. Afdal sajal min almawsim. Watanmu faqat 'aqwaa. 'Anah wahid waeishrun faqat hataa 'anah hasal ealaa mustaqbalah klh 'amamaha, sanajeal almumin minkum allayla."

As Miro and George bantered back and forth on commentary for a local football match in the Alexandrian Stadium between the teams of El Olympi and El-Koroum, the fans cheered and shouted. While the Alexandrian Stadium wasn't the biggest stadium in Egypt, the city still came out in full force to support their local players. With the star power of Ammar in El-Koroum and the all-around great players of El Olympi, it was a local match not to miss if you were a football fan.

"W hahu! Ammar ladayh alkr! Miro, wahadha hw, wahadha hu ma yaeni 'an yakun Ammar Ismail almueajaza! Wawa! 'Anah sayatimu tamririha 'iilaa Salama… Alaintizaru alaintizari, la! Kan khmwl! 'Anah hasal ealaa khatin wadih lilhdf! Nem fela!"

"Aintazar aintazer!" Miro's tone had changed – from excited to confused. "nak shaks ma ealaa 'ard almaleab w… wa, George, ybdw 'anah la yartadi shayyanaan ealaa al'itlaq!"

There was confusion on the pitch. The referee had blown his whistle to the disappointment of the excited fans who had been waiting for Ammar's goal. Ammar himself stopped to look back, confused. Just as Miro had informed the viewers at home, the dark-skinned man had walked onto the pitch without a care in the world.

"Eifu!" The referee called out as he jogged over, whistle rattling against his chest. "Eindaka—" Whatever the referee was about to say disappeared into the humid air as the man waved his hand. The referee seemed to tilt mid-jog and crashed against the floor motionless. At this, the crowd grew silent and unsure murmuring rose up. Was this some kind of stunt? Some advert, perhaps?

Two security men in black ran over and the naked man turned, swiping his hand through the air again. Both men collapsed in a heap, shoulders hitting the dry mud. The naked man raised his arms into the air and spoke – yet his voice was somehow magnified as if a microphone was held in front of him. " _'Ayn 'atfali!?"_ His voice was angry now, as if unable to believe that nobody was able to answer his request. He looked around, dissatisfied, and then threw his arms to the floor.

A sudden silence filled the stadium – not even any murmurings. The first to fall were the football players, including Ammar Ismail, collapsing to the ground without warning. In a wave of death the staff lining the pitch fell along with a pair of paramedics rushing to the field. The first row of the crowd keeled off – into their benches or falling off the side to collapse against the dirt. The second row followed and then the third and so on and so forth. Miro and George both had a moment to look to each-other before they slumped in their seats, falling to the floor with dull eyes. In only a matter of seconds, the entire stadium had been silenced with the grim defeat of death.

The naked man's face twisted in grief and he sat in the middle of the pitch, surrounded by the dead. Sirens could be heard past the stadium but he had no care for them. Instead he put his hands to his head and let out a wail of anguish, his voice echoing over the emptiness of the mausoleum the Alexandrian Stadium had become.

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Welcome, welcome, welcome, to Final Destination: The Last Laugh and the third book in the World's End Chronicles. The walls are breaking down and the supernatural is coming in full force, as you can well see. Last Laugh will be one to remember. I hope you guys enjoy reading it, experiencing it, and seeing where it's all gonna take us! Thanks, as always, for reading!**_


	2. Good News

**Chapter One**

 **Good News**

The early morning stars twinkled high above as Rose Milano sat in the comfortable cubby hole in the corner of the bedroom, a book in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. The book was a silly story about a runaway princess that Rose had been fond of ever since she was a child. It was the kind of fantasy that was impossible but was great fun to read. Rose had learned long ago that it wasn't as easy as waiting for a knight in shining armour to get free from the cage surrounding her.

Her dark chocolate eyes scanned the page and she realised that she had just read the same page three times. Rose heaved a great sigh and let the book drop lightly to the carpet, leaning against the wall of the cubby hole to stare out of the window up at the stars. The window was cranked open just an inch – enough to let the faint breeze invade the stuffy room but too small for anything short of a ferret to get through.

Bringing the cigarette to her lips, Rose peered at each star in turn, looking for a particular shining light that ought to be just above the Facility… and there it was. She breathed out the smoke of the cigarette, letting it dissipate through the window. To most men and woman of Europe, nothing would seem strange about that particular light in the sky. But to Rose Milano and the other members of the Facility, it was one of five high-cost satellites that monitored the Earth for supernatural activity.

Saviour V, the Department of Supernatural Investigation had called it; launched only a short year previously, the last of the five. The first Saviour had been launched almost six years previously, two years after the skies had opened up above London and the DSI had started phasing into the state of emergency that it had now become. While the Doomsday Clock was nearly a myth to most members of the DSI, it was certainly a threat the Board were expecting and they couldn't deny that there seemed to be something to it. Once Saviour I had been launched, they had tracked a number of strange holes in the sky through the wilderness of the Northern United States.

Each successive year the DSI had launched the next four Saviours. South America was next, followed by Asia, Africa, and finally Europe itself. It took much… persuasion… on the DSI's part to ensure that the right people knew about the satellites so they wouldn't be shot down as hostile technology. Now, one year after the Saviour V's maiden voyage, the DSI's information network had collected so much supernatural activity that it was hard to believe this was truly real life.

People with Abilities, visionaries that can predict deaths, mass killings, people simply disappearing without a trace… and that nasty business in Egypt only a few weeks earlier that the Saviour III had reported…

Rose twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she let another stream of smoke slip through the window, staring up at the Saviour V satellite.

"What're you thinking?"

The voice practically made Rose jump out of her skin and the lit cigarette slipped from her fingers. "Shit!" Rose cursed and quickly slammed her palm into the cigarette, grinding it into the wood on the cubby hole. She peered over to the bunk-bed in the room and at the face glowing in the darkness, grinning widely. " _Siddharth!_ " She hissed.

"Forget I was here?" Siddharth Bola was sitting cross-legged in the bottom bunk, wrapped in sheets with his nose inches away from a laptop screen. He tapped away rapidly for a moment before spinning the laptop to light up the room a little more. "It's rare to see you so distracted, Rose."

"Sorry…" Rose frowned and leaned her head back onto the cubby-hole roof. She didn't elaborate further to her roommate but she didn't need to. The two of them had known each other ever since they had arrived at the Facility and had quickly become fast friends. At first it had seemed a strange match – the intelligent and smart Rose Marie Milano who had just become Sub-Director of the Facility, and the tech-guru, self-proclaimed genius, and general night-owl Siddharth Bhargava Seshadri Bola (a name he was happy to watch get massacred by awful pronunciation) – yet once Siddharth discovered Rose's sarcastic side and Rose discovered that Siddharth was immensely loyal and wise they got on like wildfire; Siddharth had laughed for a good ten minutes when Rose admitted this to him, a mistake she wasn't soon to make.

"Family troubles?" Siddharth asked, unwrapping his sheets and stepping away from the bunk. He wasn't what anyone would call in shape, with a clear bulk under his maroon pyjamas and another chin hiding under his scratchy beard. Yet his face was friendly and his eyes glittered with honesty. His long hair was hidden behind his head, tied into a very tight bun that he never let free.

"I can't help but worry," Rose said as Siddharth pulled up a chair and fell into it to follow Rose's gaze up into the night sky. His laptop was tucked under his arm. "I haven't heard from them in a while." When Siddharth didn't answer, she pulled her gaze away from the stars to see his face – that looked positively devilish. " _What?_ "

"If you cared you read your e-mails yesterday, Sub-Director, you would have seen the one that said Mike and William are reporting in today at…" he tapped away at his keyboard. "Aha, nine o'clock on the dot."

"What?" Rose whipped her head towards Siddharth, her eyes wide with almost child-like glee. "Really?"

"Of course," Siddharth nodded and had to throw himself to the side as Rose practically threw herself off the seat and into a door that led into a small bathroom, snatching some clothes from the floor on her way. "That's four hours away," Siddharth called, exasperated. "There isn't any rush!"

"Says you! I gotta shower and sort out my hair and get dressed," Rose's voice replied from the door.

"Which will take half an hour, if you stretch it," Siddharth chuckled and tapped away at his laptop. "Well, it'll be good to get an early start for once."

"You don't have an early!" Rose called over the sound of the shower. "Part of me thinks you never sleep!"

"Sleep is just an unnecessary distraction," Siddharth yelled back. "I let my body sleep yet I keep my mind active. I like to think of it like hibernating."

"You just have pure sugar running through your veins!"

Already in the process of pulling open the tab on a can of Red Bull, Siddharth laughed. "If it keeps me going, who am I to say no? Now I better hear that shower going for _at least_ fifteen minutes, got it?"

"Yes, _mom_ ," Rose's voice replied, the sarcasm dripping along with the shower. Siddharth grinned under his beard, peering down at the screen, tapping away.

* * *

The news of her father and her uncle's incoming transmission made Rose wide awake as she and Siddharth walked down the bare and abandoned corridor. Most others in the Facility would still be sleeping away.

Rose was practically skipping, her reddish-brown hair bouncing back and forth. Siddharth glanced at her and had to smile. Rose would often act cool and calm outside of their quarters but it seemed like for once she had discarded that, even in the way she dressed. Instead of the navy-blue shirt and black skirt she would usually wear to 'make herself look official' as she called it, Rose was wearing tight blue jeans, a long-sleeved dark purple top, and a black sweater wrapped around her waist just in case the chill in the air was too cold. If one were to glance at her wrist they would have assumed Rose was wearing a thin bracelet but in fact it was a tattoo of vines circling her wrist.

Certainly, for the first time in a long time, Rose Milano actually looked her age of twenty-four. She often felt self-conscious of her age and usually dressed so people would assume she was mid-thirties. Siddharth was extremely happy she had shed that strict exterior for once. Rose Milano the person was a whole lot better than Rose Milano the Sub-Director of the monitoring Facility of Saviour V.

They left the Living Quarters and stepped out into the chill mountain air of the Facility. Siddharth could feel the cold through his bulk and Rose unwrapped her sweater, deciding that it would in fact be a good idea to wear it. Pulling it over her shoulders, she led the way towards the low white building that was the actual monitoring part of the Facility.

There were three main buildings. The Monitoring Station, the Living Quarters, and the Recreation Lounge, which was in fact a maze of many different rooms that had as many activities as you could hope to have trapped in the middle of a mountain range in the north of France. There were sports venues, cafes, and even shops. The whole Facility was almost like a tiny city, hidden from existence. Some would call it paradise; Rose would call it at least suitable for the DSI and Siddharth would call it a prison. Whoever was right was up to debate, something Siddharth was _very_ happy to debate about.

As they walked, they could see many uniformed guards, technically part of the DSI's Combat Division but stuck on guard duty at the Facility. This far into the mountains, with no official roads leading up and with its automatic air defence system, the likelihood of the Facility being attacked was slim to none. Yet the Paris DSI's leader, Olivier Couture insisted on the protection " _Just in case"_.

They approached one such uniformed guard stationed at one of the side doors of the Monitoring Station. He was a rugged looking man, with wide shoulders and a rough jawline, sporting a dirty-blonde moustache and goatee combo to match up with his slicked back blonde hair. At a glance, he would seem fearsome. If you talked to him, he _was_ fearsome. Yet if you got to know him – as Rose and Siddharth had, Axel Daunhauer just liked to act the part. He was actually rather sweet, fond of poetry, and found a strange serenity in gardening. That wasn't to say he _wasn't_ tough, he certainly was, he just acted when necessary.

"Mornin'," Axel growled in that rough voice he couldn't control which just made his act all the more genuine.

"It's a great one!" Rose enthused to such a degree that Axel was taken off-beat. He raised his dark sunglasses to peer at her with bright blue eyes. "What?"

"Bola… she didn't raid your stash of drinks, did she?"

"She doesn't even know where it is," Siddharth winked, a black canvas bag slung over his shoulder to rest at his hip – containing his laptop, notebook, and other such essentials he always kept on him. "Mike and William are reporting in today – though don't say I told you. Need to know and what-not."

"Wonderful!" Axel smiled under his bushy moustache. "Glad for you, little Rose. Tell 'em Axel says hi and not to work too hard."

Rose grinned. "Will do! Though maybe I'll embellish the words a little, just so they don't know your true nature." She patted Axel on the shoulder and led the way inside, Siddharth following behind and Axel chuckling to himself, before shooting a vicious glare at another early riser, just to get a kick out of their scared expression.

* * *

The Monitoring Station was essentially a massive hall, filled with layers of computer screens, all facing a much larger screen plastered against the far wall. A few early morning risers were tapping away at their computers, actively monitoring the high-intensity individual cameras upon the Saviour V.

"What are you planning to do? Sit down and twiddle your thumbs 'till nine?" Siddharth asked with a raised eyebrow as they walked into the room.

"I can read a book," Rose shrugged. "I'm sure there must be _something_ in here, even if it's an instruction manual… Now that I think about it, I probably should have brought a book from home." Neither Siddharth nor Rose found the expression strange anymore. Home for them was their cosy little room they had shared for all their time at the Facility. Certainly, it wasn't a little house in the woods with a fireplace and a thatch roof, but it was at least somewhere they could unwind. Rose was just glad she liked Siddharth – the assignments were completely random, meaning she could have ended up with just about anybody. If it had been someone wound tight, Rose would have likely kicked them out and just declared the room her own – something the Director had done on the first night.

"Who's that?" Siddharth suddenly asked, furrowing his brow. He was looking across the hall to another set of double doors that led into the basement. A woman was chatting at the door with a security guard, smiling warmly. It was particularly strange for Siddharth to not recognise somebody within these walls, as he had memorised the entire register of employees at the Saviour V Facility.

He didn't expect Rose's smile to somehow grow wider and Rose immediately rushed forward, calling out, "Jamie!" Her voice rang out and drew a few irritated looks from coffee-breathers who had pulled all-nighters. The woman turned and her face broke out into a bright smile that matched Rose's.

"There you are!" Jamie embraced Rose tightly in a hug, both seeming to fight to see who could hug tighter. It seemed the small-statured Jamie won the encounter as Rose tapped her back to be let go. Jamie pulled away and put her hands on her hips. She was a prim woman, wearing a turtle-neck sweater and long straight blonde hair. Siddharth could make an educated guess that she was from America, judging by the accents and the look. West Coast, to get a closer estimate. "I thought you'd be fast asleep!"

"I was looking at the stars," Rose said, beaming excitedly. "Dad and William will be contacting us at nine."

"I know," Jamie said. "I thought I'd stop by to talk to 'em."

Jamie was a long-time friend of the Milano's. She had grown up with Michael Milano, Rose's father, and William Milano, Mike's brother and Rose's uncle. The three of them had wreaked havoc, earning reputations as 'bad seeds'. Yet despite this reputation all three had burst through the limits of human knowledge and rose through the DSI's ranks, becoming valuable and well-known members. While Mike and William's roles were well-known as the caretakers of Saviour V, Jamie Root's path was unclear to Rose. She knew enough to know that it was a need-to-know basis.

"Jamie… Root?" Siddharth questioned, matching her nationality with a figure he knew from texts alone browsing through the DSI's database that _technically_ he shouldn't have been browsing through. There was no picture though.

"That's the one," Jamie playfully punched Siddharth's shoulder and Siddharth couldn't help but wonder if Rose's personality was influenced by her. Perhaps a mother figure when Rose had none. "And you're hiding a lot of intelligence under that friendly face of yours, you can't fool me. May I ask your name?"

Siddharth smiled, clearly feeling at home with Jamie's personality. "It's Siddharth Bhargava Seshadri Bola."

Jamie stared at him for a long moment. "Yeah, I'm gonna go with Sidd." She grinned. "Friend of yours, Rose?"

"Best friend up here," Rose nodded.

"I can imagine," Jamie said shrewdly.

"So if you're just _passing by,_ what were you doing?" Rose asked inquisitively. At this Jamie paused for a moment, glanced to Siddharth, and her expression was clear enough.

"Oh hey, look, it's Kenneth," Siddharth swung around and waved to a man up to top of the hall. "See you later, Rose. Nice to meet you, Jamie."

"And you, Sidd."

With a wave, Siddharth tactfully left Jamie and Rose alone in the relative quiet of the corner of the hall. Jamie leaned forward to Rose with a whisper, "Well, you _are_ Sub-Director so I reckon I can tell you. I'm escorting a companion south. A special companion."

"Special?"

"An _Ability user_ ," Jamie grinned at Rose's expression. "Oh yeah, I knew _that_ would interest you. Have you met one yet?"

"They're not exactly common."

"Well come on, then. I'll take you down to the basement to meet her. The Director wanted to see the abilities in action himself so I doubt he'll mind if you take a gander as well." Jamie winked at Rose. "And this one isn't only an Ability user, but also one of those visionaries you're always so interested in."

That _did_ interest Rose. She had read a lot about visionaries and what most called 'Death's List'. While the DSI's focus wasn't on what they deemed to be worthless, Rose found the stories behind the visionaries very interesting… and very tragic. She had read up on every visionary in the last decade and knew each one's database entry by heart. "Who is it?"

"Three years ago, in Eastbourne. One Tanzi Sakamoto."


	3. Tanzi Sakamoto

**Chapter Two**

 **Tanzi Sakamoto**

As Jamie led Rose down into the basement, Rose couldn't help but feel a strange sense of excitement rising in her belly. Tanzi Sakamoto was one of only a few visionaries to survive the List and the _only_ visionary to have an Ability, though the details of that Ability was unclear in the file she had read on her. That was why she was feeling excited – to witness an Ability first-hand. All she had heard were rumours and conjecture on just _what_ Abilities were. Some said it was some kind of nano-science, others claimed it was simply magic, and even others claimed that it was all just a trick, a sleight of hand.

Tanzi's file also mentioned briefly something called Nectar, though didn't elaborate on just what that was. Rose had gotten Siddharth to look into it but even Siddharth couldn't find any files easily, which was surprising. If the DSI had any info on this Nectar, it was hidden under layers that Siddharth wouldn't risk just on a whim. All Rose knew was that this Nectar had allowed Tanzi to save two other survivors and get them free of the Eastbourne General Hospital, saving their lives, though at the cost of trapping herself and others in a fiery blaze. It was due to the actions of Joshua Valentine's squad that Tanzi and one Zachary Dryer didn't get trapped within that fire.

Rose nearly ran into Jamie's back as she came to a sudden stop, pausing in front of a cupboard that Rose knew the janitors kept their cleaning supplies in.

"Here we are," Jamie said, taking the handle of the cupboard in one hand.

"…Here?" Rose said warily. Jamie _had_ been known to play tricks on her when she was a little girl. Though would Jamie try and play a practical joke at work?

"Don't tell me you've never been told," Jamie looked to Rose incredulously. "Sub-Director and you don't even know about the examination rooms."

"Examination…" Rose's butterflies disappeared as a familiar feeling dug at the base of her neck. "No… Director Evrard failed to mention that detail." Rose crossed her arms, feeling irritated.

Jamie let go of the door handle to look at Rose. "You alright?"

"Perfectly fine," Rose said, a bit more snappish than she had intended. She sighed and shook her head, saying more calmly, "Sorry. Let's just say it isn't the first time Gabriel has… _failed_ … to tell me of things of importance. Sometimes I think I'm just a cover girl for this facility. Just because Dad and William are up there they want to look good by having me in a high position…"

"Rose…"

"Don't worry about it," Rose smiled. "Do you want to eat together later? I'll tell you the juicy details then."

"Then it's a date," Jamie joked, though Rose didn't fail to notice the look in her eyes. As much as Jamie gave off an air of casual carefreeness, she was always watching, always taking every bit of information she could in.

What Rose had thought was a supply cupboard clearly wasn't as Jamie led her through the door. It led into a stairway that went down two flights. Jamie led her all the way down but Rose saw a couple of other doors. She'd have to have a proper exploration soon. Maybe get Siddharth to pull up some floor plans.

It was cold at the bottom of the stairs as Jamie led the way through another door, this one leading into another corridor though one that was lined with windows on either side.

"These are the examination rooms, every Facility has 'em," Jamie explained. "Useful for questioning, interrogation, and… well, other such activities." Rose peered through each window as they passed but the rooms inside were empty and silent. Then they came across a window that was lit up and had three people inside.

The first figure was clearly Director Gabriel Evrard, recognisable in his peacock blue suit. The Director was completely bald with a fork of a goatee sticking out from a sharp chin. He stood with the air of someone who respected the chain of command and expected to be respected in turn. Truly, the Director didn't enjoy casualness in his presence. He would always insist on being addressed as Director Evrard and that the workers not interact with the Combat Division on duty. Rose could almost hear his voice in her ear: " _They are here to guard us, not to talk with us. I do not expect them to distract you so I expect you not to distract them."_

The second figure was one Rose recognised as a guard, a young man called… Reed, she believed. He was sitting in a chair across the table from the third figure.

For a moment Rose didn't recognise Tanzi Sakamoto until she realised that the picture in the database would have been an old one. Her black hair had been cropped short, showing off her sharp cheekbones and narrow chin. She seemed more gaunt that the picture, with shadows under her eyes and her collarbone showing distinctively through the tight black t-shirt she wore. Also unlike the database photo, Tanzi now wore makeup – black lipstick and black eyeliner, giving her an almost foreboding appearance.

Tanzi's eyes were closed, her hands resting on the top of the table. Director Evrard was watching her sceptically.

"Here, this'll help," Jamie said, flipping a small switch Rose had missed to the side of the window. "We can hear them now."

"…A two-way mirror…" Rose whispered unnecessarily. It was almost certain the room would be soundproofed. That irritation in the back of her neck was growing. Jamie had said this place was used not only for examinations, but interrogations as well. As far as Rose had been told, this Facility was purely for monitoring the Saviour V Station. Was that not accurate? How much was Director Evrard hiding?

"You may proceed, Ms Sakamoto," Director's Evrard spoke smooth English though his French accent was still highly pronounced.

Tanzi Sakamoto's hazel eyes opened and she immediately started talking with a low voice. "Derek Reed, twenty-two years of age. Born in Gulfport, Mississippi on the fourteenth of February. Father is Roger Reed, mother is Cathy Reed. Both still living in Gulfport. Recruited into the Department of Supernatural Investigation at age twenty, after being involved in an altercation with King of Tabitha Bell's squad." Tanzi raised one eyebrow and spared a glance at Reed, who was looking shocked. "Wishes there were more women in on duty… he's getting a bit lonely." Reed went scarlet as Tanzi turned back to Director Evrard. "Satisfied, Director?"

"Hmm…" The Director certainly _didn't_ look satisfied. "All information that can be found by looking at his file and talking with his coworkers."

"…'Cause I've had time to run around talking to the other guards and accessing your files," Tanzi shook her head, leaning back in her chair. "Look, Director, you're the one who wanted to see my Ability. If you don't believe in what I can do, that's your own problem. I'm just here for Jamie, not for you."

The Director took affront at this attitude. "Do not speak that way to me, Ms Sakamoto. I am your superior."

"I must have missed the memo where I worked for you," Tanzi stood up and casually strolled in front of the Director, standing almost a foot under his height but still staring unflinchingly into his eyes. "I'll put it a little more politely then. _Fuck you_." Tanzi rolled her eyes and pushed past the Director to leave the room, stepping out into the cold corridor.

Still inside the room, the Director was fuming, his cheeks slightly red. He stared at Reed with wide eyes. "What!? I'll be performing an investigation into your file, Reed."

"Tanzi," Jamie called as Tanzi stepped outside the room. She turned and smiled at the sight of Jamie.

"Too much?" Tanzi asked as she walked towards the two of them.

"Not enough," Rose muttered, accidentally speaking loud enough for both Jamie and Tanzi to hear. Tanzi looked at her and cocked her head.

"Sorry, I don't recognise you. A friend of Jamie's?"

"The _Sub-Director_ of this facility," Rose scowled. "A fact that Director Evrard seemed to have forgotten about."

"Ah," Tanzi shrugged. "Well, nice to meet you. I'm Tanzi Sakamoto."

"Rose Milano. But yes, I am a friend of Jamie's as well. Known her all my life." Rose put her hand out to shake but Tanzi seemed to flinch slightly. Rose lowered her hand, confused.

"Sorry," Tanzi apologized, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pair of sleek black gloves. She pulled them on slowly, wriggling her fingers, before offering her hand out. "Right, let's try again."

Rose shook the hand, bemused, a small smile playing on her face. "I did wash my hands this morning,"

"I'm just… sensitive…" Rose spotted Tanzi giving Jamie a sideways look. Jamie just gave a nod.

"It's alright, Tanzi. She knows you have an Ability."

"And I know you're a Visionary," Rose said, the excitement rising again being in front of Tanzi.

"… _was_ a Visionary," Tanzi said, guarded.

"I read all about you, you know. The courage you showed trying to save all those survivors. Managing to save three of them, it was quite frankly awe-inspiring. You're a real hero, Ms Sakamoto…" Rose paused, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry… that was a bit gushy of me. I'm just interested in the List."

"Not a particularly interesting subject," Tanzi said firmly. "And I'm not any kind of hero. Though it is interesting that they wrote I saved the others."

"But because of you, Naomi Collado, Zachary Dryer, and Jade Skysong are all alive."

"Not because of me," Tanzi shook her head, folding her arms over her chest. "Don't believe everything you read. Especially when it comes to the DSI."

"But you ventured into the hospital—"

Tanzi snorted and shook her head. "I was in the hospital beforehand. All I did was be led around by the hand like a child."

"But—" Rose continued, severely interested in what the real story behind Tanzi was. If the DSI's database was wrong, then she wanted to know what was right. But Jamie put a firm hand on Rose's shoulder, quieting her.

"Come now, Rose. You were always too inquisitive. Tanzi is getting uncomfortable."

"No, it's fine," Tanzi shook her head and then smiled again. "In fact, I rather like it. You didn't even once ask about my Ability. I've had enough of talking about that with the asshole… sorry, the _Director_ in there."

On cue, Director Evrard walked out of the room after giving a verbal tirade to poor Reed, freezing on the spot when he saw Rose with Jamie. He quickly recovered, straightening up. "Sub-Director Milano."

"…Director Evrard," Rose replied icily. "I must apologise. I must have missed the memo of this basement." She smiled coldly. "No worries, I'll be sure to take a good look around. I'll send an e-mail your way, just so that I can ensure I know what I need to know in order to do my job."

Evrard regarded Rose with a slightly surprised expression for a moment, as if not expecting her to be so bold. Then he seemed to realise that was _exactly_ what Rose would have done and sighed in defeat. "Of course." He then turned to Jamie. "Ms Root. Thank you for Ms Sakamoto's time. Her Ability is… interesting."

"Hah," Tanzi's laugh was short and derisive. "You don't even believe I have an Ability."

"Tanzi," Jamie gently warned, her tone controlling.

"Sorry, sorry." Tanzi rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to have had the chance to demonstrate the value I have to the Department of Supernatural Investigation and I am grateful for you for opening your doors to accept me."

This seemed to please Director Evrard. "Good," He nodded. "I shall be heading up to the Monitoring Station to see to Michael and William, prepare the technicians."

"I'll join you in a moment, Director Evrard," Rose said firmly. She didn't like the way the Director implied that he would be the only one to speak to her father and uncle.

"Of course, Sub-Director," Evrard nodded and walked past Jamie, Tanzi, and Rose to the staircase.

"…Man, that guy is a _dick_ ," Tanzi said in an exaggerated whisper, just loud enough for Evrard to catch it. He paused his walk for a moment then decided it wasn't worth pursuing and just let out a loud, obvious _tut_ before heading through the doors.

"Christ, Tanzi, you're doing your best to get me in trouble, aren't you?" Jamie said, her tone admonishing but her smile betraying the fact she really didn't mind.

"Come on, he is," Tanzi insisted then waved her hand to Rose. "I mean, you're the Sub-Director and he basically never even looked at you. I would have thought you'd have been worth his attention considering that you're second only to him."

"I'd have thought so, to," Rose replied, also unable to fight a smile. She _liked_ Tanzi. She was feisty, unafraid to say what she thought, and quite frankly a fresh of breath air in the stale social environment of the Savior V monitoring station. Then she hesitated. "Tanzi… If it wouldn't be too rude of me, I'd like to ask you about what _really_ happened at the hospital. I wouldn't report any of it – the DSI don't change reports after the fact, anyway. I'm just particularly interested in what happened. I'm eating with Jamie later. You could join us, if you like?"

Tanzi let out a real smile this time, reaching up to her eyes. "I'll take you up on that. Thanks, Rose. I thought Jamie was the only friendly face around here. Nice to see not _everyone_ has a stick up their ass."

"Right then," Jamie clapped her hands together. "Let's head upstairs to get ready for Mike and William." She caught Rose's look, a glance between her and Tanzi. "Oh, Tanzi has to come everywhere with me." She raised her wrist to what Rose had thought was a bracelet to see a small green light blinking. Then she pointed down to Tanzi's ankle. On this cue, Tanzi lifted the leg of her black trousers to show an equal looking band of metal, also blinking with green light. "If she goes more than fifty foot away from me, then the band will stop her from going any further."

"And trust me," Tanzi said sardonically. "It is _not_ fun to suddenly fall asleep in the middle of a road trying to get away from her."

"You tried to run away?"

"Back when I first joined, yeah. Let's just say I wasn't exactly convinced on what the DSI were doing. Well, that hasn't really changed. But I decided it would have been a good idea to flee while I could." Tanzi shrugged. "Let's just say it's not worth Jamie's lecture if I do it again."

"Got that right," Jamie said, exasperated. "Got me in enough trouble with that little attempt. We'll have time enough to chat later, though. Come, last thing I want is to miss them." And with that Jamie, with Tanzi in tow, led Rose away from the examination room and back to the stairs.

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Forgot to mention, Rose Milano is credited to Angie2282 while Tanzi Sakamoto is credited to Sevenlags. How intruiging it is to see how time has changed Tanzi, and moreso to see how it will continue to change her. Thanks as always for readin', and 'till next time!**_


	4. The Saviour V Satellite

**Chapter Three**

 **The Saviour V Satellite**

"Have you got the reports?"

"Somewhere around here…"

"Somewhere isn't useful."

"Hold on to your horses. It'll be here," William Milano said as he pushed past numerous printed paper that filled a filing cabinet haphazardly.

"I told you to organize your system," Mike Milano crossed his arms, looking irritated at his brother.

"It _is_ organized," William said, peering at the small black text.

"Sure," Mike rolled his eyes. He glanced at the white watch strapped to his wrist that was set to the Central European Time Zone. Ten minutes to go before they were supposed to report down, though with William throwing papers left and right it seemed like they might actually have to clock in late.

"Ah-ha!" William lifted a piece of paper in success, waving it above his head. "This is what we want," He stood and passed the paper over to Mike, who glanced at it.

"…What is this?" Mike said doubtfully as he looked at the text.

"Everything we need to report on," William replied, bemused. "It's in shorthand."

" _Wonderful_. You'll be doing the report then. No way I can understand this nonsense," Mike handed the sheet of paper back and stomped over to one of the white stools sitting in front of a group of four screens. He sat down with a sigh, watching William read over the paper, evidently trying to figure out just what his shorthand meant.

Both Milano siblings were dressed in the same uniform of white with grey highlights, both wearing badges on their breast pockets that depicted the letters ' _SV'_ in silver metal. Mike was the stockier of the two, standing shorter with broader shoulders. His hair was cropped short and his face was clean-shaven, much the opposite of his brother. William sported a full head of hair that trailed down his shoulders and a beard that he hadn't cut ever since they arrived at the Saviour V satellite. He was tall, slim, and often sported a smile as well as having a tendency to goof-off.

While Mike certainly got annoyed at William's antics sometimes, there was no denying that the Milano siblings worked amazingly in tandem as a team. William was the mechanic and inventor, having got enough degrees in the field to fill a small wall. Many of his innovations from his youth were still used by the DSI today. Mike had been a pilot in the RAF when he was young, before pursuing his childhood dream of manning a space shuttle.

He had been the thirteenth man to step on the moon in 2019 and that experience had been absolutely amazing. To stand where no man had stood since 1972 and look down upon the planet Earth was quite frankly beautiful. After he had come back down he had been approached by a representative of the DSI's Board, who recruited him to the Saviour program and had been eventually selected to head up and man Saviour V the year before in 2023, along with his brother.

He didn't regret the decision, even though it had meant leaving Rose behind. Rose was strong though, and Mike knew that she'd make her way through the world without his unnecessary interference. Waking up and looking out the window to see the Earth so far out never got old.

William, on the other hand, had had a hard year. Initially he had been excited to follow in his older brothers footsteps to go out into space and had certainly enjoyed the first week or so – the first week was the busiest as they set up all the cameras and the systems needed to communicate and update the DSI's Monitoring Facility. Then William had started to feel homesick and the feeling had gotten worse and worse. He had left behind his family – his living wife, Evie Milano and his newborn daughter Marianne. That was the hardest for William – having to watch his wife on a transmission, speak to her through a communicator. Being unable to touch Marianne, to hold her in his arms… William had spent a few days absolutely miserable.

Yet, at the end of the day, they both knew what they had signed up for. A manned satellite mission for a year in order to monitor the Saviour V to keep it running. That year was nearly over though and in only a few short weeks the DSI would be sending up a shuttle to pick up the Milano siblings so they could visit their families, rest up, and decide if they would come back up or switch out. Mike knew he would stay though he fully expected William to hang up the spacesuit.

"Deciphered it," William announced triumphantly, sitting on the stool next to his brother. "Time?"

"Nearly there."

"Wonder how Rose is doing down there," William mused, sticking the paper to the side of the monitor with a wad of Blu-Tack. "Sub-Director's a hard job."

"She's got it in her," Mike said, clicking a few buttons to set up the link on the monitor. "Gabriel will be getting under her skin, but that's not too much of a surprise." Mike had never met Gabriel Evrard but he had heard of him. Definitely not the kind of person Rose would get along with. That was the one thing he didn't like about being up here. Transmissions were limited and he was unable to talk with Rose privately. It would always be in the Monitoring Station, with Director Evrard in the room along with all the rest. He didn't know how Rose was doing, didn't know what was making her happy, what was making her sad.

When he got back down he couldn't wait to sit down with her one-on-one and find out just what was going on in her life. It must have been a hectic year for her, learning the tricks of the trade of being Sub-Director for the Monitoring Facility.

"Right, I'm activating the transmission," Mike said, tapping away on the keys in front of him. The screens flickered to black for a moment, before all coming to life.

* * *

Director Gabriel Evrard stood in front of the monitor with his hands linked behind his back. William and Mike Milano had both appeared on screen; Mike hadn't changed a bit since the last transmission but William's hair and beard had grown even longer. Standing next to the Director was Rose, fighting to keep a professional look on her face though the smile was slipping out.

Seeing Mike and William face-to-face (albeit over computer screens) was a brilliant feeling.

"Mornin' Rose," The wrinkles on either side of Mike's eyes crinkled as he smiled down at his daughter. "How are you doing?"

Hearing his voice was even better. "I'm doing great, thank you, Dad," Rose said. She would have liked to explain that Director Evrard was keeping things from her but she couldn't exactly report that with the Director standing next to her.

"Wonderful," Both father and daughter could see that the other was holding words back, stopped by Director Evrard's presence. "Director." His tone grew professional. "Greetings."

"Michael," Evrard refused to call anyone by a shortened name, believing it to be unprofessional. "William."

"'Sup?" William smiled from under his beard, as unprofessional as ever. "Hey, Rose. You're looking well."

"Thanks," Rose smiled back. William was great as an Uncle. Not only had he helped Mike raise Rose, but he would always know the perfect way to have fun. Whether that was climbing up a massive tree at Louella Park or wading knee-high in Canadian snow, Mike's holidays were the highlight of Rose's teen years. He was also perfect for talking about problems at school and college, back when Rose had been in them. Talking about boys and girl problems made Mike feel extremely awkward but William was perfectly mature about it, which came as a surprise to everyone involved.

"Before we get started, I have a visitor who has requested to talk to you; A request which I have granted," Director Evrard said, stepping backwards.

"Surprise!" Jamie stood forward in front of the monitor and let out a little wave. "Mikey, Will. How's it goin' up there beyond the great blue sea?"

"Jamie?!" Both Mike and William echoed at exactly the same time. They both wore the same expression of absolute glee, almost childlike in its intensity.

"What are you doing down there?" Mike questioned.

"I thought you were in Siberia?" William asked.

"How's the travelling going?"

"Have you spoken to Evie?"

Jamie chuckled and put her hands out. "Whoa, boys, boys. So many questions." However it was clear Jamie was absolutely pleased. It had been so long since the three of them had seen each other. "I'm here in passing, Siberia was eight months ago, I've been all over the world, and Evie says little Marianne is very much looking forward to meeting her Daddy."

A strange look flitted past William's face – too quick for anyone other than Jamie and Rose to catch. Then it morphed into a wide smile. "Brilliant! If you see 'em before I do, tell 'em Daddy is looking forward to meeting his little Princess."

"Who's that?" Mike pointed his finger on the monitor, towards Tanzi who was standing slightly nervously behind Jamie.

"My charge for the moment, Tanzi Sakamoto. Tanzi, these two are Mike and William Milano."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tanzi quickly threw away her nervousness and nodded towards the monitors. "I've heard much from Jamie."

"Oh God, what has she told you?" William's eyes widened in horror. Tanzi chuckled, immediately liking the bearded Milano brother.

"Good things, don't worry," she smiled. " _Mostly_." William let out a wide laugh and Mike also smiled at this, with Jamie joining in.

"That's enough," Director Evrard interrupted the three best friend's conversation, his mouth a thin line. He clearly didn't approve of the unprofessional conduct for a transmission. "We have directives to cover. I need a report on the status of the satellite."

"No problem," William's eyes flickered to the side, clearly looking at some kind of piece of paper. "We're runnin' low on fuel but that was to be expected. The refill is in two weeks so that's no problem. There's been some slight problems with the Oxygen system in Section E; nothing serious, flickering in and out. I think it'd be a good idea to send up a technician on the change-over. Something's up with the engine as well – don't panic," William quickly said upon looking at Director's Evrard's alarmed expression. "It's nothing to worry about, Mike knows exactly what the problem is."

Mike took over the explanation. "There's a slightly loose weld. It'll hold on till change-over, but I'll definitely need to have some words with the men who worked on the satellite. I've noticed a few other sloppy welds, bolting, and fixtures as well. Over the years they have become a little more prominent. Quite frankly, I did not expect such careless work. I would like the engineers on change-over to do a full once-over of the satellite and make sure that they correct any permutations."

"Request granted," Director Evrard nodded. "Is that everything?"

"Regarding the condition of the satellite, yes."

"Thank you. How many reported openings in Europe since the last transmission?"

"We've counted six, though as you know there will likely have been more. Two in France, one in Italy, another in Germany, and the one in Paris that you knew about," William continued, shrugging. "'Least it was night time. Saviour I has shared their data regarding possibly being able to predict the openings of the rifts. Mike and I have looked over the theory and I gotta say, it holds weight."

"Yes," Evrard said. "If we can decipher a pattern and then predict when a Rift will open, we will be able to send in a drone. Find out what exactly is on the other side." Evrard tapped his finger on his chin. "The Board will be happy with that news. Now, other than the Rifts, any other unusual activity?"

"Nothing outside of the usual. Phone calls about ghost sightings, texts about spotting monsters… you know the drill. We're working with your technicians to single out what is worth following up on," William reported.

"Hmm…" Evrard glanced quickly as Rose, which Rose didn't fail to miss. "What about the search for those two?"

"Those two?" Mike raised an eyebrow, glancing to Rose, seeing her surprised expression, correctly guessing that she didn't have any idea what they were talking about. "You mean the search for Hawk and Kelly, Director?" He asked innocently – though Rose didn't fail to see the glint in his eye, nor fail to miss the slight sigh in the Director's following words.

"Yes. Any sightings?"

"A mention of an old Irish boxer re-emerging in Dublin but whether or not it's Harold Kelly we can't be sure. Though we did get a report on an 'Abraham Eagle' and a 'Gene Harvey' booking a flight at the Dublin Airport."

This seemed to get Director Evrard quite excited. "Those are known aliases! We must act immediately!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Director," William said casually. "As you say, those are _known_ aliases. Hawk and Kelly are a whole lot more smarter than that."

"It's been ten years. Maybe they have gotten sloppy."

"Or maybe that's what they want you to think," Mike said firmly. "Hawk was always a tricky one."

"Hawk was always a prick," William scoffed, causing Jamie to let out a sharp laugh that she quickly stifled after the look Evrard gave her.

"Be that as it may, we still reported the flight to Saviour I. If it's a bluff, then they'll be in America by now. The flight was to Texas. But I highly doubt it's them," Mike explained then his expression changed. He glanced to another screen. "William."

"I see it," William's carefree expression was gone and he straightened in his seat, leaning towards the screen. " _Shit_." His tone, while not panicking, was definitely not good.

"What's wrong?" Rose called out, worried. However Mike and William weren't concentrating on them.

"Mikey?" Jamie asked, stepping forward. She recognised the look in Mike's eyes and it was a look she hadn't seen for a very long time. "Hey, Mikey, what's up?"

"Report, Michael," Director Evrard followed up.

"Ruptured fuel line," Mike reported quickly and a deathly silence crept over the Monitoring Facility. "We're on it." And with that Mike and William Milano shot away from the monitors so quickly that they hadn't even turned the transmission off.

"R-Ruptured…" Something within Rose seemed to grow in her stomach and she took a step back. She glanced at Jamie and saw that Jamie had grown pale.

"He wasn't telling us something," Jamie said with a quiet voice. "He was holding something back."

Rose shook her head. "Everything's fine, right, everything's…" She felt her legs wobble and almost lost her balance had Tanzi Sakamoto not placed her hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Don't panic," Tanzi said carefully, peering up at the screen. "That's the worst thing you can do."

"Mikey will deal with it," Jamie said, also stepping towards Rose. Though it seemed like she was persuading herself more than anyone else. "He always does."


	5. Fall

**Chapter Four**

 **Fall**

Mike and William had both rushed to the back-end of the station, where the fuel lines that converged around the Saviour V satellite merged into the main engine. As soon as they looked through the small window hatch they realised just how bad the situation was.

One of the slender pipes bolting had come loose, fully separating it into two. A jet of flame was bursting outwards, scorching the white panels black. As they watched, there was a sharp _snap_ as another pipe burst open from the heat, letting out another jet of flame.

"Mike…" William's hands were shaking as he looked at the pipes. His face was set and Mike knew that fear was creeping up William's spine; he knew because he could feel it crawling up his own. For a moment both brothers were motionless before they set their feet and turned to each-other. "We need to suit up," William announced, already jogging away from the engine towards the bunks, with Mike hot on his heels.

"When I hit the failsafe, you'll have to get in there quick," Mike said as he grabbed one of the three dark blue suits hanging on the wall.

"Got it," William nodded as he connected the oxygen tank to his hip, plugging one end of the tube in the back of his collar. "I'll only have an hour," William pulled on his helmet, peering out through the visor. "You get to the escape pod."

"Will—" Mike started but William waved him off.

"Don't. I know what I'm doing and I'll be able to do it faster on my own. You need to get the hard-drives into the pod. If I give the word…" William took a measured breath. "You need to go."

"I know," Mike said grimly, his face set through his own helmet. "Will…" Mike took a moment before pulling William into a hug. "You got this,"

William forced a grin. "I know. Go!" With that William separated from Mike, heading back towards the engine. "I'll be ready when you give me the go-ahead," William said over the communicator.

Mike watched his brother head down the opposite corridor before forcing himself to turn and head back towards the monitors. As he approached he realised that the screens were still on and saw the Director and Rose both still standing where they had before, looking extremely worried. Cursing inwardly, having forgotten all about the monitors, Mike them.

"Dad!" Rose's voice was strained and it pained Mike to see her worried expression. "What's—"

"Director, I'm going to have to activate the failsafe," Mike interrupted, knowing time was of the essence. He started inputting the combination of keys before pausing and looking back at the screen. "Rose…" For a moment he thought about playing it safe, saying that everything was alright. But those pipes… "I love you," he said – perhaps the most painful thing he had said throughout his whole life – and finished the combination.

Immediately everything went dark. The satellite gave a great lurch as the stabilizers went down, causing Mike to stumble. The ever-present hum of noise was replaced by terrible silence and the lights flickered off, leaving only the natural light of the sun casting its glow through the Saviour V's interior. Mike stared at the black screens before talking into his communicator. "Ready to go."

"Got it," William's voice replied back. "I'm heading in."

"Don't rush."

"I know."

"I mean it, Will, you need to make sure you connect it to last 'till changeover."

"I _know_ , Mike. Stop worrying." Mike knew William was forcing that smile again over the other end of the communicator. "I'm on top of it. You need to get the back-ups."

"Getting them now," Mike said, kneeling down under the desk where a line of blank lights faced him, which would usually be flashing green. He reached out for the metal tab at the bottom when the lights suddenly flickered back on and a faint hum reached for his helmet. His eyes widened. This wasn't supposed to happen. He had activated the failsafe and that meant the Saviour V satellite was dark. There shouldn't be any power.

"Mike!? Why's the power back on?!" William's frantic voice came back on. "I'm in the engine room, you need to turn it off!"

"Something's wrong!" Mike shot to his feet and saw that the monitor had come back to life. He tapped the failsafe code again but nothing happened. "The code isn't working."

"Mike! Another pipe—" There was the loud noise of commotion of the other end of the communicator and Mike felt his insides grow cold.

"Will!? William! Answer me!"

"…I'm okay…" William's pained voice came back over the communicator but Mike could tell something was wrong. "…Shit…"

"Are you alright?"

"Fine. Get the power back off."

"I can't," Mike didn't like feeling this hopeless as he tried everything he knew to activate the failsafe. But both the failsafe code and the manual override weren't working. "I don't understand..."

"Bloody shoddy rushed work… that's what this is…" William's voice was growing weaker over the communicator. "Doesn't stop you, Mikey. Get the drives… Get out of there…"

"I can't leave you!"

"Fuck that!" William's voice hissed. "Get the fuck out of there! I'm trapped anyway… and my oxygen is split… so go!"

"William…"

"GO!" William's voice roared over the communicator. Mike grit his teeth before dropping to his knees again and ripping at the tab, pulling out a tray that contained multiple small grey disks. He pulled the whole tray out, lifted it and flipped a lid over the top of it. Grabbing the handle, Mike stood and left the room, heading directly for the escape pod.

As he passed the threshold of the room, there was a sudden roaring noise and the satellite lurched again with so much force that Mike was sent crashing against the wall. A great plume of flames burst out in the control room as the pipes above burst downwards. The walls were scorched black but held, Mike was thankful to see.

"Mike!?"

"One of the pipes ruptured out here. I'm okay," Mike stopped in front of the escape pod doors and tapped in the quick code, letting the doors slide open. He practically threw the backup drives in but stopped before following it in. "Will…" There was no response over the communicator. "Will!"

"…Haven't you… you gone yet…" William's weakened voice asked. "Christ, brother… do what I tell you for once… eh…"

"Damn it all!" Mike cursed, slamming his fist against the wall in a fury. "I'm sorry, Will."

"Don't be."

"I love you."

"I know."

With one final roar of anger, Mike dived into the pod just as another explosion rocked the satellite. He was thrown against the back of the pod and a moment later he realised that he was moving – yet he hadn't put in the escape code yet. Then his brain slowly recognised the fact that the escape pod was moving despite the fact the door hadn't shut. He grabbed one of the straps to stop himself from floating straight out of the open door, wondering just what the hell he was going to do now without the ejection.

Then the side of the Saviour V satellite facing Mike let out a tremendous groan and a great amount of noise and light filled Mike's eyes. The force of the explosion sent the pod spinning wildly – much, much too fast. The strap tore out of his hand and Mike felt himself slam into one wall, then another, and another. The pod span and span, beating Mike against the walls, ceiling, and floor like a ragdoll, finally cracking his mask. Mike had a moment to recognise the intense pain running throughout every inch of his body before his mask crashed against the doorframe, completely shattering the glass and leaving Mike without any kind of oxygen. He drew in an instinctual breath but there was nothing to go into his lungs.

The pod had no remorse and continued to spin and spin, pummelling the limp body of Mike Milano back and forth as it span wildly and ferociously through the coldness of space.

* * *

William Milano was slumped against the wall, staring with wide eyes at the side of the satellite that had been blown wide open, the metal tearing and throwing itself down towards the great blue and white mass that was earth. He could do nothing but watch, breathing very slowly, as great chunks of metal and shrapnel zoomed away, propelled by the force of the explosion. At least the law on satellites made sure any and all metal would burn up before impact.

William wondered whether his brother was alive or not. Something in him knew that wasn't the case but either way, he'd like to hope. Like he was hoping he'd be able to touch his daughter for the first time; a feat as equally unlikely as Mike being alive. William glanced to the oxygen canister in his lap and took his final breath. A hole had been torn through the small canister and William hadn't been quick enough to block it with his hands before nearly all of it went out. Now, with that breath taken, he knew there was no more in the tank.

He was able to hold out the first minute, and then the second minute. He wanted to fight, as if he was underwater and not in the vacuum of space, amid the wreckage of a satellite that was supposed to be state-of-the-art. But there was not going to be any breaking the surface to get any more air.

Finally he could hold no longer and gasped in oxygen that just wasn't there. William's eyes glazed over as his body spasmed once, twice, and then grew still to float along with the wreckage of Saviour V.

* * *

Derek Sanders sat at his desk, a pen in one hand and a small replica of a football bouncing around the fingers of his other. Posters plastered the walls – mostly of musicians though there were a couple of sports event posters that he had gone to in the last number of years. He flicked the ball back and forth, trying to figure out the solution to the equation in front of him.

His eyes looked to the textbook in front of him but he had to resist the urge to look at the answers. Derek knew he had to work this out properly, not take any shortcuts.

Suddenly, there was a strange flashing in the sky and Derek looked up, squinting in the morning sun. There _was_ something there, something in the sky. At first he thought it was a bird but that couldn't be true as it was coming straight for the window and growing larger by the second. Then he thought it was some kind of plane and a spasm of fear ran through his chest.

He stood, kicking the chair away from the desk, just as the mass of metal the size of a small car smashed into his room and crushed Derek Sanders in a mass of fiery metal.

* * *

"Bonjour, Sam," Elliot greeted with those lovely blue eyes of his. Sam Gretman had to resist the urge to run up to him as quickly as possible and instead climbed off of her Harley, carefully pulling her helmet off and placing it in the secure compartment at the back.

"Ravi de vous voir," Sam replied, pulling her jacket off. "Comment allez vous?" It was important not to act too eager. At least that was what Maxine said.

"D'autant mieux de te voir," Elliot said and Sam was annoyed to feel the blush rising to her cheeks. "Dois-je vous accompagner en cours?"

"Si tu dois," Sam nodded, putting her jacket in the compartment and locking it securely. Then she noticed something up in the sky, glinting in the clouds. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

Her question could barely be answered as the great chunk of melted metal slammed down in the car park, engulfing Sam and her motorbike in one fell swoop.

* * *

"Are you ready for your test?"

"I..I…" Robert Winters gulped, shaking slightly on the seat. "I am…am…" He was facing the stern tutor in front of him, her spine straightened to the point he was sure a ruler would rest comfortably against it. But he couldn't find the words and lowered his nose. "Ya ne uveren, chto gotov."

" _Wrong!_ " The tutor slapped the palm of her hand on Robert's cheek, making it sting. "You know what I say so you can speak the words. Now, are you ready?"

"Y-Yes…" The word felt ugly on Robert's tongue but nevertheless he forced it out, unsure if that was the correct pronunciation.

"Good," The tutor stepped to the back of the room by the chalk-board. "Your father is expecting much from you, so it wouldn't do to disappoint him."

Robert bit his lip. It just wasn't fair. Everything he did had to be for his father's approval. He wasn't allowed to make any decisions that would result in his own happiness. Then he heard a strange noise coming from above him and Robert glanced up just in time for the ceiling to capsize in a mass of wood and plaster, the twisted metal crashing down upon him.

* * *

The deerhound started barking from his position resting at the edge of the desk. He raised his great furry body and ran over to the window.

"Jäger?" The elderly man sitting at the desk looked out from under his spectacles. "Vad är fel?" It was definitely unusual for Jäger to be this active. The Scottish deerhound would more often than not be content to sit and bask in the warmth of the office. Professor Johann Schneider pushed his chair back and walked over to the tall window to see just what had got Jäger unnerved.

Just as he stepped to the window with his hands clasped behind his back, Johann had one moment to see a strange mass heading straight for the window of his office before the wall of the office exploded inwards, sending chunks of wood and shards of glass backwards, engulfing both Johann and Jäger.

* * *

"This is the life," Adrian Jacobs murmured, basking in the heat of the Spanish sun. He was laying on his back, dressed only in a pair of white shorts. "Can we just move here?"

"I wouldn't say no," Seth replied with a faint smile, digging his toes into the warm sand of the beach. He was laying face-down next to Adrian and their fingers were entwined as they took in the sun's rays.

"…Maybe we can work towards it…" Adrian said, the warmth on his closed eyelids pleasant. "Better than the rain back home, that's for sure." There was a grunt as a reply and Adrian smiled. Nothing could beat being on this beach under this sun with the man he loved. Then he heard something strange, almost like panicked shouts. Then the shouts grew to screams and Adrian opened his eyes just in time for the twisted metal rock to crash into him, sending a plume of sand exploding outwards.

* * *

"Die klasse wird bald beginnen."

"Ich kenne," Jenna Weissler replied as sweat ran rivulets down her face. She had been on the tennis courts all morning, trading shots with Tresa, her usual partner. "Wir haben ein bisschen mehr Zeit."

Tresa shrugged. "Wenn du sicher bist." Unlike Jenna, Tresa wasn't a student but rather a member of the tennis club. However, despite the fact she had five years more experience than Jenna on the tennis courts, Jenna still beat her every single time.

As Jenna spun the racket around her fingers, she glanced upwards. "Was ist das?" "Sieht aus wie ein Vogel… ode rein Flugzeug…" Tresa replied, putting her hand to shade her eyes in order to look at what Jenna was seeing.

"Es ist… Es kommt genau fär uns!" Jenna exclaimed as the twisted sheet of metal smashed into her with enough force to gouge out a hole in the tennis courts, scorching the ground on impact.

* * *

"Woah, woah… Don't tell me… You're actually nervous!?"

Bethany Cross looked up and regarded Jade with a disparaging look. "You should be too."

"Come off it," Jade smiled and sat next to Bethany, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Kingsley'll be so proud of you."

"…I suppose he would…" Bethany shook her head and smiled softly. "Doesn't make it any easier."

"If things were easy, then it wouldn't be fun," Jade shrugged. "Now, Murphy'll be on us like a ton of bricks if we don't get to him. I'll see you in a minute?"

"Of course," Bethany nodded. She watched Jade stand and head for the edge of the pavilion. "Jade…" Jade stopped and glanced back to Bethany. "Thanks." Jade just smiled widely and gave a two-finger salute, swinging around and leaving the pavilion.

Bethany sighed and leaned back in the chair, staring at the top of the pavilion. It was going to be tough to perform at the Signal Iduna park. It was the stage Kingsley had always dreamed of performing in ever since he and Bethany had sat around the table, the Miracle Skyhawks nothing more than an idea. Kingsley never made it… but Bethany had. Here with Sticks, Murphy, and Jade.

Stuck in her own thoughts, Bethany didn't even sense the flaming wreckage coming down on the pavilion before it was too late, crushing into the fabric and sending burning hot fragments of metal outwards.

* * *

"You better get up to school, Leslie."

"I know, I know," Leslie Carlson grinned at the waitress and manager of the Purple Pike, his green eyes shining. "Just let me finish."

"Far be it from me to leave my own cooking uneaten, but I must insist," Her short red hair was nearly as bright as her smile. "Last thing I need is a call saying your late."

"Fine, fine…" Leslie faked an irritated sigh and pushed away from the table. He stood, pulled the straps of his backpack on, and turned his back.

"Hey, hey," She tapped his shoulder and Leslie turned. "What are you forgetting?"

"How could I forget?" Leslie smiled and reached forward, pulling her in for a hug. "I'll see you later, Ruby." And with that Leslie pulled away, leaving Ruby Ascot to watch after him with a smile playing on her face.

Leslie was equally all smiles as he made his way out into the car park of the Purple Pike, perhaps the most popular restaurant in all of Eastbourne and one of the few buildings that hadn't been affected by the terrorist attack three years ago. As he mused for a moment, peering over the scarred road in front of him, Leslie noticed a glinting above him. He looked up in time for the white-hot metal fragment the size of a door to hit him full force, smashing him down into the tarmac.

* * *

With his hands laced behind his head, Sebastian Meyer let out a strained sigh. On the one hand, he was glad to skip school today. It had been too much in the last few days and he wasn't quite sure what he would do if he had went. On the other hand, there was no doubt he was going to be in deep trouble when he went home.

Feeling the cold grass under his fingers, Sebastian figured he probably should move soon. Maybe head to a café or something. Those clouds didn't look too appetizing and he really didn't want to get wet.

As he considered whether or not to start moving, Sebastian saw something push its way through the clouds – something small and shiny, growing bigger as it fell. Too slow to consider getting out of the path of whatever it was, Sebastian felt the full force of the chunk of the Saviour V satellite, crushing him against the grass.

* * *

Alisha Sanders felt pain like she had never experienced as she tried to make sense of what happened. One moment she had been in her bedroom, chatting on her laptop with Kerry, the next she had opened her eyes among the wreckage of stone and plaster and the smell of burning.

Her first thought was an explosion but then she realised that was a stupid thought. What kind of terrorist would bomb a suburb in Dublin? Then she thought of her parents before realising that they were out of the house and then finally her thoughts landed on her half-brother, who had definitely been in the house.

"Derek!?" She called out, feeling the copper taste of blood in her mouth. He may have been an absolute asshole but he was family. At the end of the day his life was worth more than any complaints she may have had. Alisha attempted to move one more time only to realise that she couldn't. Her eyes flitted to her stomach for the first time and her mouth opened hopelessly at the sight before her.

A great fragment of wood had impaled itself through her belly, a giant splinter that had torn through the skin. It was too hard to comprehend, too hard to realise what was happening. What had happened? Why was it happening? Why did she feel so… cold? With wild questions running through her mind, Alisha leaned her head back. She just needed to rest… rest a little bit… close her eyes and then sort this all out… later…

* * *

" _Fucking hell!_ " Marshall Mathers cursed wildly as he rushed to the smoking side of the manor, collapsed inwards by whatever had smashed its way through the wall. A number of other men dressed in the same black gear as him – complete with body armour and rifles slung on their backs – had gathered around the wreckage, standing around like a bunch of cattle. "What are you doing!?" Marshall called irritated, pushing past one of them. "Help me!"

They looked at him cluelessly and Marshall had to resist the urge to kick the nearest one in the shin. Stupid Ryona and her stupid objectives… "Pomogite mne nayti Winters!" This got their attention and Marshall led the charge into the room. "Voz'mi ogon'!" He pointed to a fire that had sprung on one of the velvet curtains, directing two of his soldiers to deal with it before it spread. He saw the figure of that moronic tutor coughing but couldn't see the boy.

"Robert?!" He called out, his eyes narrowed. Finally his eyes landed on the great chunk of metal that had carved its way through the wooden floor. There was a twisted, brutalized figure that he barely recognised as the Winters boy. He groaned inwardly, knowing his mission was screwed. Then he heard a great creaking and Marshall looked upwards, his eyes widened. " _Fuck_."

The oak wardrobe in the bedroom above broke its way through the weakened ceiling, crushing Marshall underneath the heavy timber, as if he were nothing but a bug.

* * *

"Evacuate the premises now!" Director Gabriel Evrard roared, directing traffic out of the building. "Sub-Director!"

Rose couldn't move. She was frozen in place, Jamie tugging at her arm to get her to move. Her uncle… her _father_ … they had lost communication with the Saviour V satellite but before they had they clearly heard and saw the explosion. Something catastrophic had gone wrong and now… now...

"Rose! We need to move!" Jamie said desperately.

 _Why?_ Rose wanted to ask. _Why move_? _Why try and prevent the inevitable?_ She glanced to the screen and saw the cameras that Siddharth had activated, looking directly up at the sky where a great chunk of what had been the Saviour V satellite was plummeting to the earth, moving too fast for the anti-air systems to do any good. Ten seconds and it would hit the monitoring station…

"Jamie!" Tanzi Sakamoto was pulling Jamie away and Rose felt Jamie's grip loosen. She felt weak and saw Tanzi tug Jamie backwards.

"No! No, get off me, get off!" But Tanzi was surprisingly strong and Jamie was on the small side of the scale. She struggled but Tanzi pulled her away. "Rose, move! You have to move!"

Her words sounded dull, almost a throbbing, as if she were on the other side of a thick window. Rose just sat back, the grief taking her like a shot to the heart. She watched the cameras, saw the great chunk of metal for a brief second before the roof caved in and time seemed to slow as Rose saw the metal of the roof splinter and break the struts like twigs. One of the long metal struts spun in the air, heading straight for her.

 _This is it,_ Rose couldn't help thinking, just as the spear of metal pierced her chest—

* * *

Rose Milano let out a great gasp and fell away from Tanzi's grasp, the images running through her brain like wildfire. The old professor, the young boy in the cap, the girl on the motorcycle, the boy in the car park, each person that had been hit by the wreckage of the Saviour V satellite; she wasn't sure how to take it all in and her mind struggled to keep up.

"Mikey will deal with it," Jamie said, stepping towards Rose. The same way she had said it before, the same tone, everything… then Jamie stopped. She didn't say the words she had said before; instead recognising that something was wrong – more wrong that it would have been. "What is it? Rose? Tanzi?"

Rose turned to look at Tanzi Sakamoto and saw the former visionary was deathly pale, staring at her gloved hand as if it were something alien. Then it hit Rose. Those images, those experiences, those flashes of death… a vision… it was a vision! There was no doubt! Everything she had read in her life, everything she had researched, all of it made what had happened make sense. What she had seen hadn't happened… she could save her father!

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Phew! That was a fun one! A different pace for a vision to take, but I think it worked out well. At least, I hope it did. Right, let's get the credits out of the way, shall we?**_

 _ ***Ahem***_

 _ **Derek & Alisha Sanders are credited to Heroeschamp, Sam Gretman & the returning Jade Skysong are both credited to One heart that stands alone, Robert Winters is credited to Sinfulwisher, Jager the Deerhound and Professor Johann Schneider are both credited to Yajuu_Kikuishi, Adrian Jacobs and his boyfriend, Seth, are credited to Lily the Vocaloid, Jenna Weissler is credited to Persephone Summerwick, Leslie Carlson is credited to Can't Get Any Better, the returning Ruby Ascot is credited to Gotthealpha in me, Sebastian Meyer is credited to Royscalo, and finally Marshall Mathers is credited to TND! **_

_***DEEP BREATH***_

 _ **Phew. I love this cast - both on the List and off the List - and things heading through this final book of the Final Destination Trilogy, and Book Three of the World's End Chronicles, are going to be epic! Thanks, as always, for reading and 'till next time!**_


	6. Sacrifice

**Chapter Five**

 **Sacrifice**

"We need to warn him!" Rose announced, much to the surprise of Director Evrard. The Director regarded her with a bemused expression.

"Warn who?"

"My father! The satellite is going to malfunction – it's going to explode!"

"Don't be so foolish. The Saviour V satellite is state of the art—"

"I just saw it!"

" _Saw_ it?" Evrard laughed derisively. "Sub-Director, please, I appreciate your excitement in seeing your father again but you must—"

"She's telling the truth…" Tanzi breathed, straightening her posture. She was still clutching her gloved hand but her face was set in stone. "That satellite is going to have a fuel rupture. It's going to take it all down, sending fragments down to Earth."

Once again Evrard shook his head. "I'm not sure if this is some kind of joke or just another attempt to prove you have _powers_ , but even _if_ the satellite were to fall, as per our guidelines any and all fragments would burn up upon entry. Now—"

At that moment, Mike Milano's face came upon the monitors, his eyes glinting with panic under his suit's mask.

"Dad!" Rose shouted and saw Mike's eyebrows crease. "The—"

However, much like the vision, Mike interrupted her, looking only to Director Evrard. "Director, I'm going to have—"

"It won't work! The failsafe won't work!" Rose shouted, intent of making her father understand. No matter what he did, the satellite would still explode and he would still die. "You need to get to the escape pods!"

"Rose? What are you talking about?" Mike glanced behind him for a moment.

"The Sub-Director is just getting a little emotional about this scare—"

"Emotional?!" Rose's voice was fall of fury. She turned to her father, squeezing her fists tightly. "I _saw_ it, Dad! I had a vision! You know how much I research them, how much I understand about them. You _know_ I'm not lying!"

For a long moment Mike Milano looked down at his daughter over the screen before finally he nodded. "What did you see?" He glanced behind him again.

"You do not have the time for foolish—" Director Evrard started but Mike cut him off.

"Let my daughter, speak, Gabriel. Rose, what did you see?"

Knowing time was of the essence, Rose spoke in a great rush. "I saw you turn the failsafe off – it worked, for a moment – and then it came back on, trapping Uncle in the engine room, injuring him, cutting his oxygen canister. When the power came back on the fuel lines started bursting, maybe because of the surge of power, and uncle told you to go to the escape pods – you did, but it was too late. You—" Rose paused for a moment, wincing in the pain of the moment. "You were killed and so was Uncle and the fragments from the satellite went down to Earth and killed others."

"Any fragments will dissolve upon atmospheric entry," Mike frowned.

"Exactly my point," Director Evrard but in but Rose got right in his face, actually prodding his chest with her finger.

"No! You've been lying to me all year! About the examination rooms, about everything! I _know_ you know that the fragments won't dissolve, I can see it in those beady little eyes of yours!" Rose turned on her heel. "Dad! You and Uncle need to go to the escape pods, now! You need to go!"

"I forbid you to follow the foolish advice of the Sub-Director," Evrard said firmly, making Rose stare daggers at him. She opened her mouth but Jamie but her hand on her shoulder tightly, stopping her.

"Director Evrard, if I may speak," Jamie started. "You may not know this but Rose Milano is an expert on visions, visionaries, and such related issues. If she says she had a vision, then she did. And if Tanzi Sakamoto saw it as well," Jamie's eyes flickered back to Tanzi, who squeezed her gloved hand tighter. "Then it is fact. The Saviour V satellite will explode and any and all fragments will not dissolve."

"Because they are your friends you support the Sub-Director's notion?!"

"Because they are vital members of the DSI," Jamie said firmly. "I have worked with Mike Milano and William Milano all my life and if they are in any danger they need to escape. I believe Rose." Jamie looked up to the monitor, disregarding Director Evrard's flabbergasted face. "The worst thing that could happen is you flee only for the Satellite to be fine. Then you can just come on back."

"Understood," Mike said, needing no more persuasion. He stood up quickly.

"Michael, I _forbid_ —"

But Mike Milano had already left the monitors.

* * *

His mind was racing. What Rose had just told him, could it really have been the truth? There was no denying her knowledge on visionaries and visions were second to none. He circled the corridor with ease, mind racing, to come across his brother, who was looking frustrated and confused.

"Mike? What the hell is—"

"We need to go," Mike said sharply. "The problem is too large."

"But—"

"We'll go to the escape pods. I value our lives over this satellite." Mike said firmly.

William looked at his brother, analysing his expression, then just sighed. "The Board won't be happy. The least we can do is get the back-ups."

"Agreed," and with that Mike and William circled around the corridor again to arrive at the monitoring room. William went under the desk to grab the back-ups, folding the lid over and pulling away. Mike went back over to see Director Evrard's furious face.

"You are breaking every rule of the DSI!" Evrard practically spat but Mike regarded him coolly.

"We work under the Board of Directors, not you, Director Evrard. Your job is to advise and support those of us in the Saviour V satellite, but _not_ to give orders. We have the back-ups and that is the best we can do."

"You—"

But once again Mike walked away, this time trailed by William. They reached the escape pod entrance and William quickly tapped in the code. Before stepping through, he turned back. "You didn't want to say goodbye to Rose? Just… you know, in case?"

"I'll say goodbye in a moment," Mike said and William's eyes widened in surprise as Mike pushed his palm into the center of William's chest, thrusting him and the back-ups into the escape pod.

"Mike!" William shouted as he scrambled to his feet but it was too late. The door had slid shut and William could see Mike's sombre expression. "MIKE!" He dived for the release button but Mike had already pressed it on the other side. The pod shook and William was thrown to the floor. He managed to regain his footing and slammed his palm against the window of the pod, staring at his brother getting smaller and smaller.

* * *

The problem was, Mike knew, was that he hadn't adjusted the satellite's rotation. The escape pod had been pointed just off of the great mass of Earth. He had to hope against hope that William and the escape pod would be caught in the pull of gravity, else… well, Mike dreaded to think that he had just fired his brother into the emptiness of space.

However, there was no time to waste. Mike ran through the corridors again, bypassed the monitors, and went into the cabin where a series of small monitors lined the sides and hundreds of small lights flashed and beeped. A number of them had turned red, signifying damage to the fuel lines and engine. It looked as if he could still activate the engines for now, though. He pressed some buttons on a keyboard to the side of him and one of the monitors flickered on, showing the room again. Evrard had his back to the monitors, while Rose and Jamie were huddled together, murmuring to themselves. It was the other Sakamoto girl that first saw him. She quickly got the attention of the others on him.

"Dad?!" Rose's face was aghast. "We saw the escape pod leave – why aren't you on it!?"

"I sent William ahead of me," Mike said, his heart-rate increasing as he looked to Rose. "He has the hard-drives. But somebody had to move the satellite."

"Move the satellite?!" Rose shook her head wildly. "Why? You could have escaped, you could have—"

"I can't let other lives die and…" Mike took a deep breath. "I can't let you die, Rose. I know how these visions go – you would never stop talking about them. The visionary always dies at the end. That means you would have been hit by the satellite's debris."

"…Dad…"

"Michael Milano, you will _not_ move the Saviour V station! That is disregarding all rules and regulations for your job."

"I know how the DSI works, Gabriel."

"That's Director—"

"I know that they'd want to recover the wreckage of the Saviour satellites in obtain to reuse the materials." Director Evrard's mouth fluttered open and shut, Mike was happy to see. He definitely knew that they wouldn't dissolve upon impact. "I don't know what the true purpose of the satellites are but I know that I will not let my daughter die."

He started up the engines and the whole cabin started to rattle. A few of the lights flickered to red but the Saviour V satellite started to move, rotating slowly. Mike watched the stars for a moment before looking back to the monitor.

"Rose Marie Milano. You share the name of the one I loved most," The lurching came to a stop and Mike pressed another combination. One more lurch of the Saviour V satellite and it was moving – away from the Earth. "I swore an oath to her when you born that I would protect you with my own life if necessary." Mike smiled grimly. "Marie said that was a stupid oath. She said that I should never abandon you. But it seems to me that the choice is clear – we both die, or I die."

Rose's mouth was moving but no words were coming out. It was like a knife to the heart for Mike but he knew it was necessary. "I will not let you die, Rose." A number of the lights flickered of once more and the satellite shook more ferociously. "Other lives are at stake. I know you, Rose, and I know what choice you will make."

"Please…" Rose managed to say but that was all.

"Jamie." Mike shifted his gaze to the other figure, frozen next to Rose.

"Mikey," Jamie murmured.

"You were more than I ever deserved. My best friend and a mother figure to Rose… no, not just a figure. You _were_ her mother. You treated her like she was your own and I respect that so much."

"You're… an absolute… one-of-a-kind idiot, Mikey," Jamie sniffed. Mike could see the tears glinting in the corners of her eyes.

"That's me," Mike smiled. "I love you. Both of you. You know what you gotta do, Rose."

And just like that, Mike had a moment to feel the heat before the cabin was enveloped in a mass of flames as the fuel line above his head exploded.

The Saviour V satellite shattered, its hull breaking open and sending great fragments away from Earth, heading to the deepest, darkest parts of open space.

* * *

"No…" Rose said, stepping forward. "Dad…"

"What a fool," Director Evrard said. "In his so called noble intentions he has lost vital technology. His decision will set us back five years!"

A fury took over Rose then. A fury like she had never felt. Everything in the last year, all the things Director Gabriel Evrard had not told her, all the things he had kept from her, his attitude, the lies, everything, bubbled up and she made to charge him, to unload her fury on him.

But Jamie Root was quicker. She took the Director by the collar and threw him to the side, sending him rolling off the platform in front of all the monitors and hitting the floor. "Mike Milano is a damn hero!" She roared. "He just sacrificed his life to save others and all you can think of is money!?"

"…I will disregard that action as a moment of passion," Director Evrard said as he stood up, dusting his jacket off. "It will not happen again."

"I'll do like I damn well please!"

"That means gathering those we just saved!" Rose put in, standing side by side with Jamie. "I won't let my father's sacrifice be in vein."

"Don't be so absolutely ridiculous," Director Evrard crossed his arms. "You cannot leave the facility, especially now, when we have so much preparation to do."

"You can't stop me." Rose said defiantly.

"But I can," the Director said. "Rose Milano, I hereby strip you of your Sub-Director rank."

"It was just a title anyway! I will still find them, I will—"

Director Evrard sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black shape which seemed to be some kind of communicator. "Commander Desmonde, this is Director Gabriel Evrard. I am issuing a shoot-on-sight order for Rose Milano and Jamie Root. If they attempt to leave the premises, I will permit you to use lethal force."

"You _bastard_ ," Rose said, her eyes widened. "You absolute _bastard_!"

Evrard beckoned to two of the security and they both moved towards him. "Please escort Ms. Milano back to her quarters – by force, it necessary."

One security guard grabbed her arm but Rose pulled away. She had no words, only absolutely anger in her heart as she marched across the yard. It was only as she reached the other end of the tarmac that the anger disappear so suddenly that it took her by surprise. Then the grief came in and Rose felt her legs turn to jelly. She managed to lean against the wall, panting. Her father was dead… and he hadn't even died on Earth. His body was somewhere up in the sky, in the cold, vast, emptiness of space.

"I thought I could save you…" Rose murmured, tears dripping down her cheeks. "You were meant to survive… You… You…" But her voice cracked and Rose slipped down to her knees, head bowed, as the wracking grief overcame her.


	7. Transmission

**Chapter Six**

 **Transmission**

It felt like the walls were closing in on her as Rose sat with her knees drawn to her chest in the cubby hole, staring up at the sky, looking for the glint that she knew wasn't there anymore. It had barely been thirty minutes since she had been ejected from the monitoring station yet she felt completely and utterly exhausted. She had cried out all her tears and had aired out her frustrations on the poor, now-crooked, wardrobe. Now she felt numb with the one fact floating at the top of her mind.

Her father was dead.

Mike Milano may not have been there for many of Rose's milestones but there was no doubt that he did the best he could do. He had been following his dreams and Rose never faulted him for that. He deserved the happiness he sought after her mother had passed in childbirth.

Rose had never really thought about Marie Milano. It felt strange to admit it to herself but Marie was as much a stranger as anyone, just a figure from Rose's past. There had been no videos of her – or if there were, Mike had never shown her them – though Rose had seen the few pictures hidden away in the attic of the family home. Marie had shared Rose's chocolate eyes but that was all the resemblance they had in common. Rose had definitely taken after her father in all other aspects.

At least they were together again, wherever that was. Rose didn't believe in God, didn't believe in the religions that were littered around the world, but she did believe in something after death. All her research into the Lists and into the Visionaries seemed to prove that. Something, somewhere, was causing those Visionaries to have their visions. There were so many cases that it couldn't have been a matter of coincidence. Not to mention the fact that there was a definite list, that the survivors died in the order of their deaths in the vision.

There were _rules_ and Rose firmly believed that meant something created those rules. Back when she was in university, those thoughts had led Rose to believe that Death was real. Perhaps not the romanticised Grim Reaper in his robes and wielding a scythe but a force that wanted the lives of those on the List back. It made sense that if this figure, this Death, was collecting the souls he believed were his, then it stood to reason that he kept those souls somewhere, which naturally led into some kind of afterlife, some kind of place for the soul to go when you pass on.

Rose hoped that's where Mike and Marie Milano were now. She hoped that they wouldn't be any searching on their part, that they would simply meet each other, smile, and somehow be happy in whatever happened after the last beat of the heart. Maybe one day Rose would find out herself…

She had tried to keep it at bay but the fear flooded in as she opened this train of thought. She had been keeping the vision, the List, at the back of her mind. The fact that there were people all over this side of the world that were going to die… that _she_ was going to die and the Director refused to let her try and help. She couldn't believe what Evrard had done – stripping her of her title was one thing but putting a shoot on sight order if she and Jamie tried to leave? That seemed extreme, even for the rule-abiding Director Gabriel Evrard.

The problem was, she couldn't just sit in her room and wait for all those people to die until her turn came around. Mike sacrificed himself to save those lives – to save her. She could not, she _would_ not let that sacrifice be in vein. But what could she do?

Leaving the facility would be extremely hard. There were cameras pointing at all the main entrances, covering most of the fencing surrounding the site. The guards were stationed at strategic points throughout the compound so trying to sneak out would almost certainly result in her getting caught.

Then there was that other thing niggling at the back of her mind, swept away by the thoughts of her father and the thoughts of the List. Her Uncle was up there on a trajectory towards Earth or at least close to Earth. Rose had seen the predicted line of motion when the escape pod left the Saviour V station and it was going to be a close all. Nearly a fifty percent chance that the escape pod would miss the gravity-pull and overshoot.

A surge of guilt ran over her that Rose had to fight to keep them. This was the first time since the explosion she had thought about William at all. He was still alive, trapped in that pod, unsure of whether he would make it down or not. What terrible thoughts must he have been thinking? His own brother had saved his life at the cost of his own not to mention that William must be extremely unsure of whether he'd see his wife and daughter again.

That thought was enough for Rose to get her act together. She pulled away from the cubby-hole and started rummaging through the cupboard. It wouldn't do to lose herself in her thoughts, to dwell in the unknowns or the what-ifs. The _facts_ were such: William Milano was still out there, innocent people were on a List and were going to die, and Rose was absolutely certain she needed to save them. Somehow, someway, she had to find out who those people were and how to get to them.

A soft knock on the door distracted Rose from her sudden flurry of activity and she turned with a jacket in her arms as Siddharth entered the room, his bag slung over his shoulder. He looked surprised that Rose was actually up and about.

"I know it's a stupid question so forgive me for asking… how are you doing?" Siddharth asked, closing the door behind him. Rose noticed the strange expression on his face, almost anger, something Siddharth never showed.

"Not good," Rose admitted. "But better than then minutes ago."

"I'm sorry," Siddharth said as he sat down on the bottom bunk, pulling his laptop from his bag. "Mike was a great man. A true hero."

"Thanks, Siddharth." Rose pulled on the jacket – a brown leather one with fur lining the collar and cuffs – doing up the buttons slowly. "But what's wrong?" She changed the subject, not really wanting to talk about Mike with anyone, not yet at least. "Did something happen after I left?" she asked, correctly by the look on Siddharth's face.

"You need to see this," Siddharth said, tapping away at the laptop before handing it over to Rose. "The Director stated that this footage was not to leave the monitoring station but, well, he can go throw himself off a cliff after today. I knew the guy was an asshole but what he did to you, the attitude he took…" Siddharth shook his head. "Absolutely ridiculous."

Rose didn't respond. She was looking at the screen with wide eyes. It was a video of William Milano, evidently still in the escape pod. His helmet was off, his face was worn and exhausted but he was moving. It seemed like he was fiddling with some settings before straightening up to face the cameras head on.

"This is William Milano, of the Saviour V satellite. I hope this transmission makes it to the facility," William took a deep breath. "Mike Milano is dead. You may already know this but he was aboard the satellite when it exploded. In his sacrifice he managed to save me and these back-ups," William said the word with venom as if he would do anything to replace the back-ups with his brother. "However, there is a problem… I have overshot the trajectory into Earth."

Rose's throat tightened and she could do nothing more but listen.

"These back-ups and myself will not make it back down to Earth. This is fact." William took another deep breath. "I have twenty-four hours of oxygen within this pod as well as an hour of oxygen in my suit. I will survive for these twenty-five hours." William closed his eyes for a moment. "I will send these transmissions every five hours though they will be short in an attempt to prolong my oxygen. It may be futile but I plan to last as long as I'm possibly able… Rose." Rose started at her name and stared at her uncle's face.

"I think I get the gist of what happened. I caught snippets of the conversation Mike was having over the communicator and after what happened… what he did… moving the satellite itself… I understand what happened. I think you or Jamie must have had a vision. Mike Milano was… severe, at times. I do not believe he would have stayed on the satellite if your lives weren't threatened. Rose, you told me enough about visions to understand that Mike didn't just save yours or Jamie's lives, but the lives of other innocents over Europe where the debris of the Saviour V would hit. With Mike saving their lives and yours, it means that they are all on that List you would always speak of.

"I know what you are thinking, Rose, and I know what you are going to do and… and I fully support it. I have twenty-five hours of oxygen. Find who you can, do what you can, use this time to your advantage. There is a very good chance that I'm first on the List and as far as I can see, there is no way for me to be killed in this sealed pod with nothing broken and in open space. So that means that you have twenty-five hours before I… I…" William gulped. "Well, you know. I hope you can save the lives Mike sacrificed his own for. Do what you need to do, Rose. You're strong enough and knowledgeable enough to do what needs to be done. Twenty-five hours, Rose, understand? Twenty-five hours until the List moves on.

"I will contact the facility again in six hours. I just have one more request. Do not tell my wife what has happened not… not until after. When it is done, show her these transmissions. I love you, Evie, Marianne." With that William clicked the message off and Rose could only sit back.

"The Director didn't want to show me this?" She could feel that now familiar anger rising in her chest. "Even when Uncle directly addressed me?"

"He felt it was unnecessary," Siddharth said quietly. "I felt that was a load of crap so I made sure to get a copy of it."

"Thank you, Siddharth. This sets in stone what I must do."

"You're going to go?" Siddharth asked, eyeing Rose's jacket.

"I have to."

"I know," Siddharth smiled, taking the laptop from Rose and tucking it back in his bag. He reached in the wardrobe to pull out his own jacket, completely black, also lined with fur.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked, confused.

Siddharth grinned. "Come now. You do not think I'm going to let you go out there yourself?" Siddharth tapped his forehead. "I know the positions of all the guards in the facility, I know when they are going to move, and I know where the blind spots in the cameras are. Without me, you'd get shot in a heartbeat."

"Thank you… But we have to make sure you don't get seen helping me. If you do, then Director Evrard will be on your case."

"Doesn't matter if I'm seen or not. I told you, Rose," Siddharth put a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her, that smile under his whiskery beard lighting up. "I'm coming with you. All the way."

"You can't," Rose said firmly. "You've worked so hard to get where you are now—"

"And I've got everything I need," Siddharth tapped his laptop. "It's non-negotiable, I'm afraid. I'm coming with you. We'll escape the facility, find a place to hole up in to work out where to go and what to do, and continue from there."

"Siddharth…" Rose couldn't help but feel a swell of emotion through her chest. This year Siddharth had been the best friend she could have hoped for. He had been supportive of her when no-one else had been. He was full of great advice and funny jokes and knew just what blackmail to use if someone was being particularly vicious to Rose. He was like a big brother who looked out for her and always protected her. And now he wanted to come with her? To risk his livelihood and his very life? She couldn't help but hug him tightly. "I appreciate it."

"As much as I am a big fan of hugs, we must move," Siddharth checked his wristwatch. "I've already planned out the perfect place to leave."

"Already?"

"Your Uncle isn't the only one who knows what you think," Siddharth winked. "So let's go." With that cheery air that was infectious, Siddharth turned and Rose was able to at least push back the still raw grief to the back of her mind. She had a mission now, something to concentrate on. She was going to escape the facility and she was going to find the survivors; she would save who she could.

Siddharth opened the door and his grin suddenly faded.

Standing in the door, arms clasped behind his back, was Director Gabriel Evrard, his expression smug. He was flanked by two guards – one of which was a large tree-trunk of a man named Philhipé, the other was Axel, Rose was sad to see – Axel was someone else who was always great to her but she supposed it made sense he'd follow orders. He certainly seemed upset to be in the position he was in now.

"Mr Bola," Director Evrard said. "Ms Milano. It seems like my suspicions were proven correct. I am disappointed in the both of you for this rash course of action." He cocked his head and Rose was furious to see a small smile playing on his lips. It was a cocky smile but his eyes were full of intense hatred. Such hatred that Rose was shocked by it. "Estermont. Daunhauer. Escort these two to the examination rooms."


	8. Escape

**Chapter Seven**

 **Escape**

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Rose demanded as Philhipé and Axel approached, backing the two of them into their room. "Gabriel—"

"That is _Director_ ," Evrard sneered.

"Gabriel, I thought you respected the rules and regulations!" Rose continued, wondering just what it was she could do. There was no way she and Siddharth could fight off the larger Philhipé and Axel – they were just staff members whereas the two of them were members of the DSI's Combat Division.

"I do. I have always." Rose's words made Director Evrard put out his hand, stopping Axel and Philhipé in their tracks. "What are you implying?"

"Then why are you accosting us now?" Rose asked. "Siddharth and I were taking a walk! I couldn't bear to be in this tiny room – I had to get some fresh air."

"A likely story," Evrard sniffed. "You have both got your jackets on and Mr Bola has his bag. It is clear to me that you two are planning on leaving."

"Jackets tend to be worn when people go outside," Siddharth said slowly, his eyes darting between Philhipé and Axel, "and I take this bag with me wherever I go. You know this, Director."

"Do not make excuses for her, Mr Bola."

"She has _just_ lost her father!" Siddharth exclaimed, stepping towards the Director with courage Rose didn't know he had. She also hadn't realised how tall Siddharth was until he was stood nose-to-nose with the limber Director; it seemed his bulk made his height less obvious. "Not an hour ago," Siddharth continued.

"Stand down, Mr Bola."

"I'm afraid not, Director. You'll have to forgive me for protecting a friend. What she says is the truth, we were going to walk around the grounds to talk about what happened. _Around_ the grounds, not outside of the grounds. You think we'd be foolish enough to attempt to run away? Two people against the whole facility? Director, you know that I'm smart. You'd think I'd take a chance like that?" Siddharth stepped back and put a hand on Rose's shoulder. Rose understood what he was trying to do and played the part, dropping her head slightly and putting on a miserable expression – moreso than she had been sporting anyway. "Please, Director. Understand the grief that Rose is going through… when I lost my parents, I would have given anything to have anyone to talk to but I didn't have that opportunity. I just want to give Rose that chance. As a friend. I appreciate that things are tense but we are just going for a walk. We just want to talk about Mike Milano and what his life meant."

Director Gabriel Evrard stared at Siddharth for a long while before he slowly shook his head. "An entertaining story, Mr Bola, but my decision is final. Estermont, be sure to confiscate Mr Bola's bag and laptop."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Rose finally asked, looking up at the Director. Siddharth's plan to tug on Evrard's heartstrings hadn't worked so it was time for honesty. If she was going to be sent down to those examination rooms she wanted to know just what Evrard's deal was. "I thought maybe you didn't tell me about all those things just because I was new to the organisation but now… now I can see it in your eyes. You hate me and I don't know why."

"Hate you? _Hate_ you? I don't hate you, Rose Milano, I _despise_ you," Evrard's voice turned to venom and his eyes widened to the point where they seemed to bulge out of his skull. "You, who was given the keys without any training or any dedication. A year, a year is all you've worked for the Department! I have devoted thirty years of my life to get to where I am now! I had to fight and claw and do everything I could just to get to Director. The deals I've made, the missions I undertook, the people I've sold out, to get to where I am… and you… you, a little girl, got put into this facility just because your father and your uncle were called Milano as well!"

Director Evrard seemed absolutely crazed now, spittle flying from his mouth. It seemed he was holding some long pent up feelings. "I had to watch you get put in this position. A slap in the face, that's what it was! A slap in the face to me, to all of us who've worked for the Department for all our lives! It's people like you who have ruined what the Department was originally founded for! Young children who've no experience in the field yet are put there because of who they know or who they are related to. This is _my_ facility! This is _my_ home! The Saviour V was part of something and your stupid father screwed everything up!" Evrard sniffed. "I guess it runs in the family. Stupidity killed your father. Stupidity is going to kill you, when I'm done with you… and stupidity killed your mother."

Rose wasn't even aware that she had lunged for the Director until she was tangled in the arms of Philhipé, who had grabbed her flailing limbs and pulled her backwards. "Let go!" Rose roared, trying as best as she could but Philhipé's body was built like bricks. "Let me go!"

"Look at you. A child and no more," Director Evrard folded his arms over his chest, having calmed down a little now, though he was still red in the face. "I've had enough of this… game…" The Director's words trailed off suddenly as five slender fingers wrapped around his skull from either side. The Director's expression went slack as the bare hands clutched his head tightly, his mouth quivering slightly.

After about five seconds, the hands pulled away and the Director fell to his knees like a ragdoll, revealing Tanzi Sakamoto looking concerned.

"Urgh…" Tanzi looked down at the Director with disgust. "I have the sudden urge to monologue."

"If anyone were a child, he was," Jamie Root said as she strolled up with her hands in her pockets. She shook her head down at the Director, gently nudging him with her foot. He tipped to the side and fell roughly to the floor.

"Wha?" Philhipé's mouth dropped in surprise. He turned to look at his fellow guard when the back of a rifle clonked him directly above the nose. Philhipé immediately let go of Rose, letting her drop to the floor, as he backed against the wall, clutching his face in pain and surprise.

"Sorry, Philhipé," Axel Daunhauer shrugged with an apologetic smile under his moustache. "Es tut uns leid, you were on the wrong side." And then Axel stepped forward and clubbed Philhipé one more time on the nose, dropping the bigger man.

Rose and Siddharth could only watch in a stupor as Jamie pointed to the fallen Philhipé. "Tanzi, make sure he doesn't wake up soon."

"Of course," Tanzi leaned down and placed a bare hand on Philhipé's skull. Then she pulled away and smiled lightly. "Mmm, much better. Glad to have the Director out of me. Though this guy is such a muscle-head I feel like I'm getting dumber with every second." Tanzi grimaced as she pulled on her gloves again.

"Come on, get up," Jamie offered a hand to Rose which Rose grabbed, still in a stupor.

"Jamie?" Rose swung her head to look at Axel, who smiled at her. "Axel? What's… What's going on? What did you _do_?"

"Saving your behind, little Rose," Axel said, patting Rose on the head as if she were a doll.

"And you didn't think you were going to get out of here without bringing me in?" Jamie said, shaking her head. "We're coming with you."

"Coming with us?" Rose repeated stupidly.

"You really did act on your passion, didn't you?" Jamie chuckled. "You didn't think to bring the one other person around here who had a vision? Or the one person who has travelled around the world _and_ is a family friend?"

"You want to help?" Rose asked Tanzi, still trying to compose herself.

"Well, Jamie wants to help so I don't have much of a choice. It's go with her or go to sleep but, saying that…" Tanzi sighed. "I do want to help. I saw what you saw, Rose, and…" She bit her lip before shaking her head. "We'll have time for that later. The Director and the muscle-head'll be down for a little while but not forever."

"We'll have a lot to talk about," Jamie said, her eyes flashing slightly. It was clear, that much like Rose, she was taking action instead of dwelling on her grief of losing both best friends. Rose was sure she had seen the transmission from William. "I'm guessing you have a plan on escaping?"

"Yes," Siddharth provided, surveying the scene. He had many questions but he knew that was of the essence at the moment. "Follow me, I know the blind spots." He scratched his beard for a moment. "Though I was planning for two, not five…" He peered at Axel and shrugged. "Are you any good at improvising on demand if you had to?"

Axel stroked his moustache with two fingers. "I have been known to dabble in acting in my youth…"

Siddharth nodded. "There is a higher chance we'll be seen with five of us but I think we can do it. At the very least, we can try."

* * *

In the end there was no need for Axel's acting as Siddharth's plan went without a hitch. He had led the group around the back of the Living Quarters where the wall was only a few metres from the fence. There was a mismatch of old building materials that the facility had never gotten rid of: old planks, sheets of metal, metal pipes, and more. The boards were nearly ten foot long and it was these that Siddharth was eyeing.

"Axel, can you lean them against the fence?" Siddharth asked, peering back and forth.

"You're planning on using them like a ramp?" Jamie asked as Axel followed Siddharth's request, lifting one of the long planks easily and place it with one end tucked against the corner where the earth met concrete and the other end leaning atop the fence, creating a steep incline.

"Exactly," Siddharth said as Axel placed another to the side. "They'll support our weight, they'll be sturdy, and we won't have to waste time cutting open the fence itself. That should do it," he said to Axel as the bulky guard placed a third plank, creating a long ramp.

"You don't have to come," Rose said again, looking at Siddharth. Then she looked at the rest of them. "None of you have to risk it. The DSI will be after us. We'll be fugitives."

"I just knocked out the Director, I think I'm already a fugitive," Tanzi smiled though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Rose had noticed that look before when she had met them back in the living quarters. It was like she was thinking deeply about something but trying not to let it distract her, though Rose couldn't guess what could be on her mind. Then she realised that she hadn't second guessed the fact that Tanzi had seen the same vision that she had. But it wasn't the time for questions.

"And I gotta take care of you," Jamie said with a smile. "I promised Mike that much." Rose shouldn't have been surprised that Jamie was going to come and honestly, she was happy for it. It was a worrying enough prospect to head out just by herself and Siddharth, so having someone older, someone more experienced, would be invaluable. Besides, Jamie was family and Rose needed family now more than ever.

"Axel?" Rose asked. "I didn't even ask you why you saved us."

"Little Rose," Axel said, shaking his head. "The simple answer to that one is that I have watched the Director and his little game all year. Let's just say my job isn't only to guard this facility," he winked. "But they'll be time enough for questions later. I fear Bola is getting impatient."

"Impatient? Me?" Siddharth raised an eyebrow, glancing up and down the small alley. "It's not like we're on a timeline on escaping a facility where there is a shoot on sight order issued. Go on, Rose, you first."

Rose nodded and scrambled up the planks, pushing off the wall to give her a boost. She rolled off the top and landed with a slight stumble on the other side. A thrill went through her spine. She had done it – she had hopped the fence and left the facility. It was far too late to go back now.

Tanzi was next, climbing up the planks and dropping off the other side, landing with a lot more finesse than Rose.

Siddharth came next and had to get Axel to help him get his bulk up the planks. He finally managed to grab the top of the fence and pull himself over, falling to a heap in the dirt. "Ow…" Siddharth stared up at Tanzi and Rose staring down at him. "What? It was a lot easier said than done, alright? Help me up." As Rose and Tanzi pulled Siddharth to his feet, Jamie hopped down, lithe as a cat.

"Axel, you're up," Jamie called.

"One moment," Axel had pulled one of the planks and placed it neatly down on the pile that he had originally pulled it from. He proceeded to do the same with the other planks and then started scuffing the ground with his feet, making the scene look exactly as it had done before they had got there. "Wunderbar." He nodded to himself and then in one expert move hopped to grab the top of the fence, pulled himself over with little trouble, and landed with trained movements.

"I didn't even think of covering our tracks," Siddharth frowned.

"Haha! I think you ought to stick with computers, Bola," Axel beamed and patted Siddharth's shoulder heavily.

"What's next for your plan, Sidd?" Jamie cocked her head.

"Well… uh… I was just thinking of getting to the nearest town and then working out the rest from there." At everyone's gaze, Siddharth put his hands up. "Hey, I thought of this in five minutes, alright? Give me a break."

"I think I shall lead from here on, then," Axel said, turning on his heel. "Bola would only get us lost and I'd rather not spend days in the mountains. Come, follow me. Quietly, at a jog, come along!" Axel led the pack at a jog, heading into the grass clearing outside of the fence. There were long thin trees on the other side and it was here that Axel was heading. Jamie followed right behind him, matching his pace with ease. Rose came after – having kept in good condition over the years. Tanzi trailed just behind though she seemed slightly slower only because her mind was on something else, not because she wasn't fit. Finally Siddharth trailed behind, his bag bouncing on his hip, clearly not used to moving like such with his bulk.

By the time they hit the treeline and came to a stop under the cold breeze, Siddharth was breathing heavily, sweat on his brow. Everyone else was in perfectly fine condition.

"Someone didn't take the DSI's complimentary training course," Jamie patted Siddharth on the back. "Poor Sidd."

"I had more important things to do," Siddharth gasped, straightening up. "As long as my mind runs fast, I'm perfectly a-okay."

"You shouldn't neglect your body though, Sidd," Jamie lectured. "You never know when life will throw a curve-ball and you wish you didn't eat that extra donut."

"You will need to keep up, Bola, understood? I will not wait for you if you can't," Axel said. "Understood?"

"…Understood," Siddharth nodded.

"So where are we heading, Axel?" Rose asked.

"There is a property under my name down in Saales – it is private, unassuming, and perfect to make the plans we must make," Axel informed. Not for the first time since he had hit Philhipé, Rose wondered about Axel. He didn't seem even a little bit fazed about escaping a facility he had guarded for a year and now with this property pre-owned and the mention that guarding wasn't his only job… there was something more about Axel and Rose hoped that he would provide just what that was.

"Saales?" Siddharth paled slightly. "That's two miles away."

"Come on Sidd," Jamie clapped Siddharth on the back. "It'll take us twenty minutes. It'll just be like a stroll in the park."

"I have no idea what that is like," Siddharth moaned as Axel, Rose, Jamie, and Tanzi set off down the woody incline. "It's fine…" Siddharth muttered, starting after them. "Don't show any sympathy for good ol' Siddharth, it's fine… I don't need it anyway…"


	9. Interlude - Death at Cairo

**Interlude**

 **Death at Cairo**

South of the Kasr Al Nile Bridge in the middle of Cairo, the Hadiqat al Hurriyah park had been a common place for the locals – too far from the tourist industry for any foreigners – to relax during lunch breaks from work or on days off. For years it had been carefully cultivated by a charity that sculpted the land into something that was quite frankly beautiful, growing trees and flowers that flourished in the heat of the Egyptian air.

That was until 2001, when the charity was brought out by a multi-national company that needed a new office. For the public and officials of Cairo, the tall, grey building was just another office complex to do with data and communication however in reality it was the Egyptian HQ of the Department of Supernatural Investigation, headed by the CEO, Zeina Morcos, a rising star within the DSI and a vital member of the African communication team before she was assigned the job.

Now Zeina Morcos stood outside the glass doors of her own building, a feeling of dread on her shoulders. She was a slim woman, attractive under her flowing silks. Her pitch-black hair was tied back into a ponytail that hung down to her waist, braided with small bells that chimed with every movement. Zeina's friendly blue eyes would usually be glittering with happiness but not today. As she stood outside the door of the headquarters, her eyes were closed.

"…Tafeal ma yajib ealayna…" Zeina muttered in her native Arabic language, her voice as gentle as her appearance. She was well loved within the Department of Supernatural Investigation, especially with her own Egyptian comrades.

Opening her eyes, Zeina took a deep breath and pushed open the glass doors to enter the wide foyer. It was extremely quiet with only the receptionist sitting at his desk, peering absently at the wall. Zeina looked at him as she passed and couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger. The receptionist's eyes were dull and had it not been for the faint rising and falling of his chest, he would have looked dead. He wasn't too far from it, Zeina knew.

Passing him, Zeina came to the elevator, calling it down. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, hoping that today was the day that everything went back to normal. It was do or die. Either the plan would work or it wouldn't.

If it didn't Zeina Morcos was certain this was her last day on Earth.

The elevator doors swooshed open and Zeina stepped within the small compartment, pressing the button for the top floor. Immediately the elevator doors closed again and Zeina felt herself moving up.

Everything was in place. She had managed to get in contact with the best Egypt had to offer to do the job that needed to be done. She wasn't able to use the DSI's network, else _he_ would find out. No, she had to use other means. Luckily for her, she had connections to the Talon, a black market group that operated throughout Africa and Asia. Talon had provided her with the means Zeina needed to end it.

Once more the doors opened and Zeina strode through the corridor without pause. She barely glanced at the figures sitting at their desks, staring absently at the computer monitors. They were just like the receptionist – dulled eyes, pale. These were people Zeina knew, the people who worked under her. They were people she had shared drinks with and people she had comforted. People who devoted their lives to her and the DSI; lives that were now on the line if Zeina didn't walk the path set before her by _him_.

A set of glass doors stood at the end of the corridor and it was these doors that she stopped in front of. "…Iinah daruri…" She whispered. _It is necessary_.

Opening the doors, Zeina let them softly close behind her as she faced the desk. It was her desk though in the last two weeks she hadn't sat at it. The high-backed green felt chair was looking out the massive window that made up the back wall, looking out over the river Nile and the white rooftops of Cairo.

"Welcome back," the voice that spoke was masculine and sweet, almost musical. It was a voice that promised that everything would be okay, that everything that could go right would go right.

It was a voice Zeina Morcos despised with every fibre of her being.

The felt chair turned and Zeina looked at the man sitting in the chair. Completely bald with dark skin, the man would have been attractive had he been a normal man. He was wearing traditional Egyptian garments as if he had just walked in from the desert. Robes hung down his body and he wore a white head wrap around his head. Bands of gold hung around his neck, glinting in the sunlight. "How are you?"

Zeina masked the expression on her face. She couldn't let it all fall apart now. She forced her mouth to open and spoke in the same English that the man spoke, "I am doing well."

"Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"…Yes."

"Wonderful." The man's eyes gleamed. Zeina hated those eyes – there was no emotion to those eyes. It was like staring in the void. "It is time." The man raised his fist and for a moment Zeina had the terrible thought that he was about to end her… but instead the man just continued to talk. "My power has come back, Zeina, to the point where we can move on with the plan."

 _The plan_. He always spoke of this plan. The plan to find his two children – the very same demand he had made of Zeina back in the stadium. Zeina winced remembering back to that stadium, that place of death.

She had gotten a report that the Alexandrian Stadium had gone dark in Alexandria. Immediately she had set out with her team to find out what had happened. When she had arrived, the amount of dead bodies… Zeina had never seen such devastation. Thousands of people all just… sitting or lying down without moving. Dead in their seats.

And there _he_ was, sitting in the middle of the stadium, amidst the corpses of the football players, of police who had come to investigate, of innocent people. Then without warning he had swept his hand through the air and her whole team had collapsed. Zeina was the only one who was spared the sudden death. Somehow, the man had known that she was important, that she was a member of the DSI.

Zeina couldn't contain the shiver that ran up her spine, remembering how he had introduced himself.

" _You mortals commonly know me as Death_ ," he had said in the middle of the field as he and Zeina stood among the corpses.

Death.

Zeina could hardly believe it yet the evidence was there. Without a touch he had slaughtered so many people. That power was too much for a normal ability user. His eyes, his aura, it was so very clear that this man was who he said he was – Death himself.

There was nothing Zeina could do. The smart move was to follow Death's lead and see what he wanted. It would do nobody any favours if she had tried to shoot him then and there. In a single moment that would have killed her and without a CEO in the Headquarters, the African Department of Supernatural Investigation would crumble.

Death had but only one request. He wanted to know where his children were and Zeina had promised that she would be able to find out – and with the names Death himself had provided, Zeina was able to locate them.

"You will continue to help me, I trust?" Death said, the void of his eyes staring at Zeina.

"If you keep your promise," Zeina said.

"I have no care for you mortals," Death said slowly. "I want my children. When I find them, I will leave you be." He glanced around the room. "I have no care to be in the presence of things so beneath me."

Zeina didn't reply to that. If he was truly Death as Zeina's gut believed then he represented so much that humans couldn't comprehend. Even the Department of Supernatural Investigation, who dealt in their namesake, the supernatural, couldn't understand what happens after death. They were concentrating on the Doomsday Clock, on demons and horrors of the abyss, not of Death. Zeina had read many reports on so-called Lists and reports on the concept of the being known as Death but the DSI had felt that these things weren't important, that they weren't connected to the Doomsday Clock.

But being in Death's presence, staring into those eyes, she knew that it _had_ to be connected. This being that sat in front of her was beyond comprehension and it seemed to Zeina that Death was the link between everything the Department of Supernatural Investigation had focused on over the last thirty years. The Doomsday Clock, the men and women with those strange Abilities, the Rifts that opened up all over the world. Zeina had no doubt that is was all connected.

Hopefully she would be able to contact the Board very soon to report on it all. That is only if her plan went off successfully. The signal would be soon and then everything would change. The question was whether it would change for the better or for the worse.

"You have arranged transport?"

"Of course," Zeina nodded. That was one of the reasons Death had kept her of all people alive. As the CEO of the African branch of the DSI, she was able to put a cover on everything that had happened. She had to report the deaths in the stadium but she explained it away as an Ability user who spread a disease that would kill instantly. Zeina had reported that they had to kill this Ability user. She had faked the autopsy report and everything else that was needed – taken pictures of one of the corpses in the field, made it seem like her story was authentic… after all, everyone else who had witnessed the event was dead.

There was a buzz in the pocket of her thin white trousers underneath her silks. She stiffened momentarily afraid that Death would recognise her reaction for what it truly was but it seemed as if his mind was elsewhere. He was leaning over the desk, looking at the information on it. The information regarding his children that Zeina had tracked down for him.

 _Five._

That buzz signified that after five seconds it would happen.

 _Four_.

Zeina couldn't help but count down in her mind.

 _Three_.

She clenched her fists, staring at Death's smooth face. He was still focused on the desk.

 _Two_.

Each second seemed to drag on. Zeina could feel the bead of sweat run down her forehead.

 _One_.

Would it work? Could it possibly work?

BANG!

The gunshot echoed out louder than Zeina had expected. In an instant the front of Death's face burst outwards in a crimson cloud. His head banged against the desk and Zeina could see the massive hole in the back of his head. Bits of brain and gore were scattered all over the desk and dripped from the gaping wound. She slowly looked past the top of the chair – which had been torn off as if by a wild animal – then to the window which had a hole about seven centimetres in diameter, cracks criss-crossing from the hole, across to the rooftop on the other end.

While she couldn't see the figure, Zeina knew that the assassin she had hired from Talon was on that rooftop, sporting a custom M107 Barrett .50 Caliber rifle.

Zeina stood frozen for what seemed an age before she found the courage to move forward. Death was still there, slumped on the desk, his head practically gone the hole was so large. Then the feeling of triumph ran through her chest. She reached under her silks to pull out the communicator in her pocket. "Target is down," Zeina whispered. The tension had made her throat hoarse. "I repeat, target is down."

"Talon expects the payment within the hour," was the only response on the other side of the communicator. Zeina lowered the communicator, standing in front of the window. She could hardly believe it. The last two weeks had been devastating both physically and mentally. But it seemed Death – or at least the person calling himself Death – truly could be killed. The triumph blossomed and bloomed within her chest and Zeina Morcos allowed herself to smile.

Then she heard the deathly rattle as if someone were choking.

The triumph plummeted away and Zeina turned, dread running up her spine.

Somehow, impossibly, Death was standing. Zeina could see straight through the bloody chasm of his face to see the wall behind him. But that chasm was slowly growing thinner; bones connected like puzzle pieces, skin stitched itself back together, the nose and lips reformed into their smooth, natural shape.

Death opened his eyes and smiled.

It was a smile that felt like Zeina had been shot herself. "No…" She whispered.

She had failed. This man was truly what he had said he was. Death was real. His brains were still spread across the desk but here he was, standing in front of her with that horrific smile.

"I commend the effort," he spoke and Zeina's legs gave way, the bells in her hair tinkling mournfully. She fell to the floor and could only look up at Death and found herself finding that seeing your life flash before your eyes was a true statement. She saw herself hugging her parents when she moved out of her home, she saw her first kiss, her marriage and subsequent divorce. She saw the day she joined the DSI and saw the people she knew, the people she had seen live and die for her and the Department they worked for.

Everything had been for naught. Her life had been so short and so utterly wasted. It had all led to this moment where it would end.

Zeina refused to close her eyes. She refused to give him that satisfaction. She would face Death, stare at him, until it was over.

"Such a fierce expression…" Death whispered. "But I won't kill you."

Zeina remained staring at him. She couldn't speak nor did she want to. He must be lying. He had to be lying.

"Yet you must be punished. Such a shame…" Death turned around and raised his arms. "I truly intended to leave them alive."

"No!" Zeina found her voice but it was too late. Somehow she knew. Every soul that Death had controlled in the headquarters had been extinguished. All the lives he held hostage, all the hundreds of people in the office building… in one single moment they had all died.

It was her fault.

Zeina Morcos shook, her limbs quivering, her teeth chattering. Her decision had wiped out every single person in the building. Hundreds of lives on her shoulders, crushing her to the floor.

"We must find my children, Zeina," Death continued as if he hadn't just committed genocide. He put a finger on the desk, flicking a small piece of brain away from the piece of paper. "You will take me to the transport you have arranged." He wiped his finger across the two names on the list. "We will head to Eastbourne," and said the names to himself as if saying the names would help him find them. "Robert Isaac Yates…" He said the first name. "Paige Theresa Calloway," he said the second. "My children… Wait for me. I shall be with you shortly."


	10. Names on the List

**Chapter Eight**

 **Names on the List**

 _09:00 CET_

 _Saales, France_

 _24 Hours Remaining_

"Here," Axel pulled a bottle of water from a small refrigerator in the corner of the room, handing it over to Siddharth. "Drink before you faint."

"Thank you," Siddharth accepted the drink gratefully. His face was red from the exertion of the walk and the moment they had gotten inside of Axel's rented house he had collapsed on the nearest seat.

"The rest of you as well," Axel passed around more bottles. "It is best to keep hydrated." The others accepted their bottles and then they grew silent, all taking a moment to let what they had just done sink in. They had just fled from a DSI facility and no doubt they would be on the DSI's wanted list now. Nevertheless, all five members of the group didn't regret the actions they took.

Tanzi stood up, attracting everyone's attention. She still seemed worn out but there was something in her eyes – a look that Rose couldn't quite understand. "The first thing that needs to be done is write down the List—" she looked to Rose. "We're going to have to wrack our brains to try and figure out any and all clues that we can."

"How do we start?" Rose asked, the vision still fresh on her mind. She doubted she would forget it for a long time. "They were all over the continent and I only caught snippets of conversation and most of those were in different languages."

"Work through them one by one," Jamie suggested. "Concentrate on one place and then move to the next."

"Three of them we don't need to figure out," Tanzi said grimly. She approached the corner where a whiteboard covered in scribbles stood. "May I?" She asked Axel. It seemed that this room was already being using for research but Axel just nodded. Tanzi picked up the nearby eraser and wiped away the information before writing the numbers 1 to 14. Right at the bottom she wrote 'Rose Milano' and gave it a big circle. In the first two positions she wrote the names 'Mike Milano' and then 'William Milano'. It was strange, seeing them as names on a board. Then she wrote the name 'Bethany Cross' on the ninth position.

"She is a member of the Miracle Skyhawks," Tanzi explained. "Another member of the band was involved in the List that I saw in Eastbourne, Jade Skysong."

"I've heard of them," Siddharth said, tapping away at the laptop. "Here we go. Four members… there we go, the singer is the aforementioned Jade Skysong, drummer is Sticks, guitarist is Murphy and then the bassist is our target, Bethany. They broke out a couple of years ago, finally going worldwide." Siddharth's fingers and eyes was practically a blur as he sped through the contents on his screen. "They're on tour at the moment."

"It sounded like they were getting ready for something," Rose said, thinking back on the conversation between Bethany and the girl who must have been Jade. "It was likely a concert but they didn't mention where they were performing."

"Dortmund, Germany," Siddharth immediately said. "Signal Iduna Park, at six o'clock tonight."

Tanzi quickly wrote down the information.

"Are you able to get in contact with them?" Axel asked.

"I'm afraid not… Ever since Eastbourne I… haven't really kept in contact," Tanzi frowned and then wrote down the word 'Eastbourne' in the tenth position, straight after Bethany. "But this here is Eastbourne itself."

"You recognised that restaurant?" Rose asked.

"I worked there," Tanzi said with a thin smile. "The Purple Pike. I do not know who that teenager was but the lady was Ruby Ascot."

"Another one you know?" Axel asked.

"Yes," Tanzi took a breath but didn't seem willing to talk. However, Rose knew Ruby's name.

"Ruby was a survivor not only in Tanzi's vision but also the vision that Sabrina Holland had in London, around the time the skies were first reported to open," she added, to give some time context for Axel, Siddharth, and Jamie. "The only survivor of the first and one of five for the second."

"She wasn't in the second List," Tanzi quickly said, surprising Rose. "I saw her in my vision but we learnt that if you sacrificed yourself within a vision then it meant that you'd miss the list."

"What, Death has a heart?" Siddharth scoffed.

"Did anyone sacrifice themselves in your visions?" Axel asked, listening intently.

Both Rose and Tanzi shook their heads.

"Verdammt," Axel growled the curse.

"At least that gives us a head-start on two of them," Jamie said. "Even if we don't know the boy in Eastbourne we know where he is and that'll make it a lot easier. So, working from the top is going to be best. Number three?"

"A boy studying in a house…" Rose frowned. "There really wasn't more than that."

"Derek," Tanzi supplied.

"How'd you know that?" Rose asked, amazed.

Tanzi just tapped the number 12. "You remember the girl here?"

"She was… impaled…" Rose blanched just remembering it. Then she remembered that she had called out a name… "Derek…" Then she realised something. "Most of them died by the falling debris. This girl didn't… and the house design is the same… They were in the same house! Derek was the one hit by the debris and the girl got caught in the crossfire."

Tanzi nodded. "Yes…" Then she turned away. "But I wouldn't know where they were…"

But Rose was thinking back to the room, screwing her eyes shut in concentration. " _Forbidden Fruit… Longitude… Beatyard…"_

 _"_ The posters," Tanzi nodded along, realising what Rose was remembering. She turned to Siddharth. "There were music posters on his wall… and… and Derek had a mini football he was fiddling with… the Shamrock Rovers!" Tanzi exclaimed.

"That all leads to Dublin, Ireland," Siddharth muttered as he tapped away on his laptop. "Shamrock Rovers are a local team and those three music festivals were all hosted in Dublin."

"Dublin's a big place," Jamie frowned. "Anything else? That can narrow it down?"

"The girl…" Rose started, once again shutting her eyes to get a clearer image of the vision. "She was on her laptop… speaking to a friend… on… on a chatroom…" Rose strained as best she could.

"Yes," Tanzi muttered and her own eyes were closed as well. "…LoveMeSanders98… That was her screenname."

"Do you think Sanders could be her surname?" Axel asked.

"Gimme a second…" Siddharth was tapping furiously on the laptop. "…pulling up the Dublin database… searching Sanders… geez, there's a ton of 'em… but… aha!" Siddharth shouted triumphantly. "Only one family has at least two children with one male named Derek and a female. Derek Sanders and Alisha Sanders."

"Sidd…" Jamie looked at Siddharth. "Please tell you me you're not accessing the DSI databases?"

Siddharth grinned, tapping the top of his laptop. "Not just the DSI databases… but don't worry, I'm ghosting my way through them. They won't know that someone is accessing them but even if they did, it won't come back to us. The DSI databases and the others as well will be important for us."

"We got their names then," Tanzi nodded, writing the name Derek Sanders by 3 and Alisha Sanders on 12.

"Number four was a girl named Sam," Rose supplied, switching to the next section of the vision. "They were speaking French… one of the few languages I actually recognise."

"Outside of a school," Tanzi continued. "They were in a car park and there was a plaque… the Université Grenoble Alpes."

It took Siddharth only a moment to pull an image and show it to both Rose and Tanzi. "This what you saw?"

"That's it," Rose nodded firmly. She remembered the one named Sam looking.

"Good, that's another one down," Jamie said as Tanzi wrote 'Sam' in the 4 position.

"The next one is a boy named Robert," Tanzi immediately said. It seemed she was able to draw on more information than Rose but Rose certainly tried her best. "Somewhere really fancy. He had a tutor and everything. The tutor insisted on speaking English but Robert couldn't…"

"What language did he speak?" Axel asked.

"I didn't recognise it... something harsh. Polish, maybe, or Russian?"

"Hrm…" Siddharth frowned. "Did you get a surname?"

"Number 13," Rose provided, putting the dots together. "That security guard or whatever he was, he was in the same location as Robert. It was a really big manor, like Tanzi said, really fancy. In one sentence it sounded like he said 'Winters'… it was distinct from the other words."

"Winters?" Siddharth absently typed in the name with the search parameters he needed and then raised an eyebrow. "When you say fancy…"

"We mean _really_ expensive," Tanzi supplied.

"Well, I have a Robert Winters on the outskirts of Moscow; he's a big leader in the business world."

"This was a boy," Rose frowned.

"…Ah, he has a son… also named Robert… Here, I got a picture of the manor. You guys recognise this?" Once more Siddharth showed Rose and Tanzi a picture and once more they nodded.

"That's it," Tanzi wrote down the name 'Robert Winters' in the fifth position and then wrote 'Security?' in the thirteenth position.

"This security…" Axel asked. "What was he wearing?"

"We saw it from his perspective," Rose said. "But his fellow guards were wearing black uniforms with body armour. They were carrying rifles and the like."

"Armed?" Axel stroked his moustache. "Makes sense for such a fancy place."

"The guard was American," Rose said with certainty. "Remember, Tanzi? He spoke English before switching the language. That accent was definitely American."

"So… American military? Chances are our guy belongs to private military. Likely hired out by Robert Winters himself." Axel looked to Siddharth. "Would you be able to hack into Winters household? Get the information?"

"It's not a question of can I, it's a question of how long," Siddharth smiled but shook his head. "It'll take me a little while to get in, though."

"You'll be able to do it on the journey," Jamie said and nodded. "We got Robert Winters who is earlier on the List at least. Who's next, guys?"

"This one is at least easy for the name." Tanzi said. "There was a nameplate on his desk. Professor Johann Schneider. His office was filled with all sorts of things… books and figures. Old things… maybe not valuable but certainly odd and unique."

"There was a dog as well. Big and shaggy." Rose offered.

"A Scottish deerhound?" Siddharth asked with a smile but Rose just shrugged. "'Cause I got a report on a Johann Schneider here who is known for always giving lectures with his faithful Scottish deerhound, Jäger, by his side." Siddharth continued to trail through information. "He's a popular fellow… a number of PhD's, he's written a number of books and… aha! He is currently in a placement at the Gothenburg University, in Sweden."

Tanzi nodded, writing the name Johann Schneider and other important information at the number 6 position. She tapped the number 7. "This guy… I can't figure out any clues. He was with his boyfriend on a beach but, and I don't know about you Rose, I couldn't get anything from this one."

Rose thought back to the vision. The two were indeed on a beach. It was a crowded beach with warm sand but nothing that could signify who these two were. She shook her head. "No… I can't think of anything…"

"What about the surroundings?" Siddharth asked. "Did you see any recognisable buildings or scenery?"

But the two of them shook their heads. Rose hated it. They had been working out the rest of them but this one was so hard. "His eyes were shut…" Rose muttered. "Nothing."

"Maybe we ought to move on to the next one," Jaime said gently. Even though everyone in the room realised it, no one mentioned the fact that they wouldn't be able to work out the location of this man with so little clues.

"Another language I recognised," Rose said with a nod to Axel. "German."

"A girl playing tennis," Tanzi said as she thought back. "I didn't catch names but… Rose, the t-shirt of the one the girl was playing… it had text on it… and an insignia…"

Rose nodded, seeing the image in her head. "It was… two rackets put together behind a tennis ball and… and the words Cologne Sporthochschule Köln." Everyone looked to Siddharth and just as expected Siddharth was tapping away. It didn't take him long to look up from his screen.

"It's a sports university in Cologne," Siddharth provided. "The shirt you described has the insignia of the tennis club there. I'd wager the one we're looking for is at that club."

Tanzi scribbled the information down and then beckoned to number 11, the only number left blank. Number 7, the unknown, had been written as just that: unknown.

However, Tanzi and Rose looked to each other with sudden realisation. Like number 7, they had no clue on where number 11 was. "Again…" Rose said sadly. "He was just relaxing, staring at the sky. It could have been anywhere."

Silence came over the room then until Axel clapped his hands together and forced a smile. "Only two unknown's isn't terrible to be frank," He nodded to Siddharth. "We'd know a whole lot less if Siddharth here wasn't with us."

Tanzi nodded slowly in agreement. "If there is one thing I learned back in Eastbourne, it is that we can't save everyone."

Rose looked at her, aghast. "You don't intend to give up on them?"

"What can we do?" Tanzi asked, shrugging. "We have no clue where they are. We're on a time limit as it is."

Jamie put a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Sometimes, Rose… sometimes there are things that we just can't help… or _people_ we just can't help…" Jamie pointed to the board. "But we have twelve locations on that List. That's pretty damn amazing."

Rose didn't want to admit it but they were right. They didn't even know what those people looked like. They had the locations of twelve people… they had managed to work it out. She didn't want to but she cast both numbers 7 and 11 out of her mind. She had to concentrate on those she could help.

"…So speaking of the elephant in the room…" Siddharth started, peering over the lid of his laptop. "How the hell are we planning on getting to all these people? Fly?"

"We can't fly," Jamie immediately said. "The DSI will be watching the airports."

"So we drive," Axel said firmly.

"Drive?" Siddharth repeated weakly.

"And…" Jamie glanced to Rose. "We're going to have to split up."

"No!" Rose immediately shot back. "We've got to stay together—"

"There is less than twenty-four hours until the oxygen for your Uncle runs out!" Jamie said firmly. "We have to take the best advantage that we can. Track where these people are." She pointed to the names. "The boy in Eastbourne and the Sander siblings, one group will need to head to England and Ireland. The drive to Eastbourne is around about eight hours, then another nine hours to Dublin.

"Then another group will have to do a circuit – the girl named Sam, the Miracle Skyhawks and the sports university." Seeing Rose's expression Jamie sighed. "I know. I know you don't want that. But you also know that it is what is necessary."

Once again, Rose knew Jamie was right. Then she asked, "How? How do we split up?"

"I'll have to go to Eastbourne," Tanzi immediately said. "I know Ruby. It would make sense for me to go. Jamie, I know that means you have to come with me…"

"Of course. I think it would make the most sense for Axel to come with us. You and Siddharth know each other very well. You'll be able to get the three when you need them."

"But the other names?" Axel asked, looking at the places Jamie hadn't mentioned.

"Leave that to me," Siddharth said. "I can get my hacking chops in while Rose drives me. The Professor, the Winters boy, the PMC, I already have some ideas brewing."

"Then it's settled," Jamie nodded to the others.

Rose felt like it was moving far too fast but then again that was because there was a time limit. She wanted to sit down and speak to Jamie about her father and her uncle and reminisce but there were more important things. There were lives at stake.

"We will take half an hour to get ready," Axel said, looking at his watch. "Get some food in us; acquire some vehicles and other such supplies. Then we'll head out. Everyone's okay with the split, then? Jamie, Tanzi, and I'll drive to England while Siddharth and Rose will stay down this part of the world?"

There were no complaints, despite Rose's own doubts. It seemed Jamie had forgone her personal feelings to focus on their mission and was working everything out logically. Jamie was one of the best at planning so it only made sense.

Rose hated it but she knew that the decision was the right one if they were to take advantage of the twenty-four hours William Milano had given them.


	11. Secrets

**Chapter Nine**

 **Secrets**

 _10:00 CET_

 _Saales, France_

 _23 Hours Remaining_

It was a strange atmosphere for the five runaways, standing beside a silver DS 7 Citroën Crossback and a brown Peugeot Partner Tepee. Over the last half an hour, it seemed like each of them had delved deep into their own thoughts.

Siddharth Bola sat in the back of the Tepee, his laptop opened in front of him but his eyes staring blankly at the screen. The fact that he had run away from the DSI had started to come down on him and Siddharth couldn't help but wonder just how big a mistake it was. What if Director Evrard got a combat squad to come and take them out? Maybe they were already coming down into the small town of Saales with a shoot to kill objective. Siddharth didn't enjoy the image that kept popping up in the back of his mind – slumped in the back of the car, a bullet hole in his chest. He was still fairly young and had a lot he wanted to accomplish. Dying because of a stupid decision would be devastating… But it wasn't stupid, Siddharth had to tell himself. He was doing this for Rose, doing this because of everything he had found out about the Department of Supernatural Investigation over the last year, doing it because he felt he _needed_ to.

Jamie Root was leaning on the bonnet of the Crossback, one leg crossed over the other and her arms folded over her chest. She had tied back her blonde hair into a ponytail and was wearing wire-rimmed glasses in an attempt to make unwanted glances brush by her. Her mind was on Mike and William Milano, her best friends. One dead and one soon to be. It hurt to think about them but there was no way she couldn't. Over thirty years she had known them – had grown up with them, laughed with them, cried with them. Now that was all over. Perhaps she would be soon… Jamie had no illusions on what tended to happen to people who got involved with Death and his List. Perhaps she'd be meeting William and Mike again soon… and it scared her that she wasn't sure if she was happy or sad about that fact.

Axel Daunhauer was the only one moving, placing bags in the back of both vehicles. The bags were filled with spare changes of clothes as well as other useful supplies and tools that Axel deemed suitable for the trip. He had explained to the other four that it was possible they would have to take… risks… to get some of the survivors on board. Chances were some of them wouldn't simply up and join them. He had a supply hidden away in the cache of his rented building complete with firearms, drugs, and tools. He had chosen the best of these and assigned them to the four. His usual smile had disappeared over the last half an hour, wondering whether he ought to reveal his true identity or not. On the one hand, who he worked for wouldn't affect the current situation and would only complicate things, but on the other hand he didn't like lying to his allies… his friends, in Rose and Siddharth's case.

Tanzi Sakamoto sat on the step just outside of the door of the building, staring at her gloved hand. How had she managed to see into Rose's mind and see the vision? Her ability was not supposed to be able to work through thick clothing… from all the tests over the last couple of years it had definitely seemed that way. Yet she had seen the vision… something she had never expected to see again. But then it wasn't the same as it was in Eastbourne. This time she didn't feel like she had _experienced_ the deaths, only watched them. Not that that was any comfort. And then there was Ruby… who in under ten hours she would see again. Tanzi hadn't spoken with Ruby at all since the back of the ambulance. There was a guilt residing in the pit of her stomach… It wasn't that she couldn't contact Ruby… it was simply that she hadn't. After everything they had done together, everything _Ruby_ had done… What would it be like when they came face to face again?

Rose Milano simply stood by the Tepee, staring at a photograph held in her hand, her thoughts conflicted. In the half an hour that had gone by after they had worked out what they were going to do, Jamie had pulled Rose aside for their first one on one conversation since her father had died and William was thrown into space.

* * *

 _Rose stood face to face with Jamie in the side-room. She could see Jamie's expression was carefully masked and Rose wondered just what it was Jamie was going to talk about. She had assumed it was about her father but that expression… it was a strange one. Rose felt like whatever Jamie wanted to say was something that was unexpected._

 _"Has Mike ever spoken to you about his past?" Jamie asked; unexpected, just like Rose thought._

 _"I know about his moon landing in 2019…" Rose said with a slight frown. "That he was in the RAF when he was young. Otherwise…" She didn't know much about her father, Rose had to admit. But she felt that that wasn't too strange – most children didn't know the full story of their parents. It seemed strange to delve into Mike's past, especially when Mike was always so focused on the future._

 _"Kept his promise then," Jamie said quietly, almost a murmur. She let out a sigh and reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet. She slipped out a photo that Rose had seen before – Jamie clad in climbing gear atop Mount Everest. Why was she getting that photo? But then Jamie licked her fingers and peeled the top of the photo off and Rose saw that there was another photo underneath. Jamie offered the photo towards Rose. "Here. Look at this."_

 _Rose took the photo and looked. It was a picture of four youths, barely eighteen from the look of them. Yet, Rose recognised three of them. Her father, Mike, was the most obvious, still stockier and military looking. At this age, he must have recently joined the RAF. It certainly looked like they were on a base of some kind, even though they were in civvies. It took a moment for Rose to recognise William with short hair and only stubble but she recognised his eyes and his smile. He had one arm wrapped around Mike's shoulders in celebration, and the other around the shoulders of Jamie herself. It was a Jamie Rose barely remembered from her youth – short cropped blonde hair and a youthful face._

 _But the second woman and the fourth member of the group was someone Rose didn't recognise. It was a woman with dark hair and a number of piercings – a hoop in her nose, two studs above her right eyebrow, dangling spikes from her ears – she looked very much like a punk or even a Goth, with the black dress and studded necklace. "Who is this?" Rose asked automatically, though she realised the answer before Jamie even said it._

 _"Your mother," Jamie said quietly. "…And my sister."_

 _"Huh?" Rose looked up at Jamie but Jamie was turned away. "You… You're my mom's sister?" Rose couldn't understand why Jamie would have kept something like this from her. Certainly, Jamie had been present throughout her childhood and acted almost a mother but neither she, William, or Mike had mentioned that she was her mother's sister; that felt like something really important to tell her. "You're my aunt?"_

 _"Yes," Jamie said, her face turned away. "I'm sorry I didn't say before but… we felt it wasn't necessary. What do you know of your mother?"_

 _"Nothing much at all," Rose said, her head still reeling from Jamie's revelation that she was her Aunt. "She died when I was born, right? So I don't know anything." Rose looked at the photo again and murmured, "This is the first time I've seen a picture of her like this." The pictures Rose had seen in the attic had shown her mother in uniform, with her hair tied back into a bun and no piercings to be seen._

 _Jamie paced over to the window, leaning on the windowsill, and stared up at the sky. "Mike made William and I promise… that we would never tell you the truth until he passed on. Honestly, I expected this conversation to happen when I was in a rocking chair with grey hair and a knack for knitting…" Jamie turned and smiled for the first time in the conversation, though it clearly didn't reach her eyes. A small thudding hit against Rose's left side of her forehead, near the ear. What was Jamie saying? What promise? However Jamie grew quiet and Rose had to prompt her._

 _"…What promise?" Her voice came out in an unexpected croak. Jamie looked away again._

 _"My sister… your mother… She didn't die in childbirth." Jamie let this hang in the air for a long moment, expecting Rose to say something. But Rose's mouth only opened slightly as she stared at Jamie. She heard the words but couldn't quite accept them. "Mike… Mike, he… he killed her."_

 _"…What…?"_

 _The word came out quick and quiet._

 _"What did you just say?" Rose asked, her eyes wide._

 _"Your father—"_

 _"No," Rose interrupted, shaking her head. Mike? Kill someone? Let alone his wife? There was no way, no way in hell. Mike was the epitome of a good man. "What kind of a joke is this, Jamie?" Rose smiled disbelievingly and let out a short, bitter laugh. "Not very good timing, is it? I mean, Dad? Do something like that?" She shook her head. "No."_

 _"Yes," Jamie said firmly and turned to face Rose fully. She stared deeply into Rose's eyes and Rose was sucked in to the gaze. "Mike Milano murdered Ashley Root."_

 _It was the truth. Somehow, Rose knew this wasn't some kind of ill-timed joke or even an elaborate lie. Jamie's gaze told her everything Rose needed to know. It was the truth… She found herself growing dizzy and fell back into a chair, staring up at Jamie. The photo hung loosely in her fingertips._

 _Once again, Jamie turned away, and started speaking._

 _"It was Christmas Eve, in the year 2000. You had just been born in the Saint Francis Memorial Hospital – a healthy baby girl. You were practically glowing back then. If only you had known how your birth came to be… you were never planned, Rose. Mike and Ashley… they were a couple but they had never… consummated their relationship. Mike was certain he was in love but Ashley… she couldn't be so sure. However, we had a party for a friend's birthday and that night they shared the same hotel room. Both had too much to drink and both knew it was a terrible idea yet nevertheless it happened. That was the night you were… well, around forty weeks later and you were born._

 _"The moment my sister held you… we knew. The pregnancy had been hard and she had been in the hospital for a lot of that time. William, Mike, Lisa – the fifth member of our little group, she's the one who took that photo – and I were present for your birth. But Ashley held you in her arms and… I'll never forget it. That look of pure… pure hate._

 _"I'd never seen that in my sister but it was true. She hated you. She shoved you into my arms and sent us out. I left with you in my arms, William and Lisa with me. I had never heard Mike shout so loudly. The argument was short, though – Ashley didn't want any of it. Your father stormed out of the hospital room but upon seeing you all that anger faded away… or was pushed down. He took you from my arms and he looked so… so serene. Like he finally had a real purpose. He loved you… He loved you twice the amount a normal parent would. He loved you for himself and for Ashley… who… who didn't._

 _"You have to understand. Mike and Ashley weren't even living together during her pregnancy. Ashley didn't have enough money and Mike did all he could to provide for her during that time – for the cost of the hospital visits, the illnesses, all of it. We all chipped in. But the cost put Ashley in debt, made her miserable, and lost her the career she had fought so hard for in the RAF. She blamed you for it all. I disagreed with Ashley – we all did. I mean, how could you blame a new-born child for all the problems? A birth is a miracle no matter what. But nevertheless, we all understood why she hated you._

 _"You stayed with me the first few days. Ashley would not permit you to be under the same roof as her. Mike stayed with you until the fourth day, when he took you to Ashley's home. Perhaps he thought showing you her would finally make some kind of connection… but instead it turned into the worst argument of all."_

 _Jamie took a deep breath and squeezed her fists tightly. "You were only in the other room. They went outside into the corridor as they argued. She lived in an apartment, you see, and had let Mike in, not realising he had you in his arms. I had come with him but promised not to come up. I was going back down the stairs when I heard the shouting. It was real fury, real anger – from both of them. I went up to break it up when Ashley shoved Mike with all of her strength. Mike stumbled back and I guess something in his training went off. He shoved her back—"_

 _Jamie's voice cracked. "She fell. Down the stairs. Right past me. Her neck was broken. Ashley was dead before she reached the landing." Her fists were shaking now and something wet dripped to the floor. She was crying, Rose realised, among the haze her mind had gone into. Jamie never cried. Never. "I never once blamed your father. None of us did. Lisa was already in the DSI at that point – she used her connections to cover up the accident. The only person who blamed Mike was Mike himself._

 _"He used to say that going to space was his dream but we think it was more than that. He worked so hard to raise you during your first eighteen years but then he worked towards going to space and leaving. We think he was running away – literally, from Earth. He had done his duty in raising you until adulthood and then left. No doubt he loved you but as you grew to look more and more like Ashley, he couldn't handle the guilt he had hidden away. Taking on the Saviour program seemed like an obvious attempt to stay away from Earth as long as he was able. That was the main reason William went up with him, to try and be there for Mike._

 _"He loved you, Rose. He loved you more than the world itself. He would die for you…" Jamie turned to Rose, her cheeks wet, and corrected herself. "He did die for you. He made us promise," she repeated. "Not to tell you until he was gone. You didn't need to know how Ashley felt about you. We respected his wishes." She shook her head. "I'm sorry."_

 _"…Don't be." Rose heard herself say automatically but her mind was spinning. She had never really thought about her mother but now finding so much about Ashley Root, about her father, about it all in one fell swoop was almost too much but… but strangely, she felt grateful. "Thank you," Rose said, looking up at Jamie. It all made so much sense. Why Mike Milano had spent a lot of time away from Rose the older she got. It must have been so hard for him to see her grow into the woman he had loved… and the woman he had killed._

* * *

Rose slid the photo into her pocket and took a deep breath. She caught Jamie's eye and Jamie hesitantly smiled. Rose smiled back. She had time enough to get her bearings with the truth that she had been told. "We'll be heading out now," Rose called out, drawing the attention of Tanzi, Axel, and Siddharth. She walked over to Jamie and gave her a big, tight hug. "I'll see you, okay?"

"No doubt," Jamie said back, giving the hug as tightly as she received it. "We'll keep in contact."

"Thank you," Rose said, feeling a connection between them that had grown with the grief of the last two hours. Mike's death, William's escape and subsequent overshoot of Earth, escaping the facility, learning about her mother from Jamie, learning that Ashley had hated her, had blamed her, and had been killed by her father, Mike. It was so much to comprehend yet Rose felt… complete. She let go of Jamie and nodded to Tanzi.

"Good luck with your friend in Eastbourne," Rose said. "And the siblings in Ireland. I hope we can get them on board."

"Same to you," Tanzi smiled then cast a glance at Axel. "Do try to persuade them properly before using his tactics."

"Of course," Rose nodded and then offered a hand to Axel. Axel grabbed it. "Thanks, Axel, for helping us escape. It must have been a big risk."

"It was, Little Rose… but it was worth it."

And with that, Rose turned and got into the Tepee with Siddharth. She watched Axel get into the driver's seat of the Crossback with Tanzi and Jamie getting in the back. She hoped that she would see them again. She knew that perhaps she wouldn't but she trusted and believed in the three of them. When Jamie was back she would sit down and learn more about her mother – what Ashley Root was like before the fiasco of her birth, in the RAF, with that group of friends.

"Ready to rumble?" Siddharth asked, leaning in from the back.

"Definitely," Rose nodded, starting the engine. "Let's go."


	12. A Change of Plan

**Chapter Ten**

 **A Change of Plan**

 _14:15 MSK_

 _The Winters Manor, Moscow, Russia_

 _22 Hours Remaining_

Marshall Mathers stretched back in the deck-chair, a glass of Black Russian in one hand and a lit Viva Tradicion cigar in the other. A thin layer of grey cloud hung in the skies above filtering out the sun and giving a chill to the air but Marshall didn't feel it through his uniform. Custom-fitted, thermal-lined, and state-of-the-art; one of the many perks that came with his job. However, the scuffed boots and the wear-and-tear in the jacket proved that Marshall didn't take the best of care of his possessions.

He had gone through too much to worry about looking neat and tidy, though. Real soldiers didn't gussy up like teen girls on prom night, no, real soldiers showed the marks of war and wore them proud. That was one of the reasons he had refused surgery when he received the machete from the Afghan soldier back in '02. The vicious scar extending from the edge of his ear, over his nose, and to the corner of his lip was still present and very much visible, a ridge of hard skin. Marshall wasn't ashamed of it, though. It was a trophy. Besides, the soldier that did it got a whole lot worse.

He brought the cigar to his lips and inhaled, letting the smoke sit for a moment before letting it out. If there was one thing Marshall liked about Russia it was that nothing could beat its cigars or its alcohol. There wasn't much else to be desired, though. Cold and foreign with only around five percent of the population speaking English, it was hell enough to communicate with anyone. When he headed back to the good ol' USA, he'll definitely be taking some of this deluxe stuff with him to enjoy in the Texas sun.

There was a splash and Marshall peered out of his shades without moving his body. The deck-chair was situated to the side of a large pool that took the rough shape of a half-moon. The blue water looked downright chilly but that didn't stop the swimming instructor from stepping inside.

Anastasiya Amelina had a body as pretty as her name and Marshall enjoyed the view for a good long moment. Anastasiya was curvaceous in all the right places and had raven hair that cascaded down her shoulders to the small of her back. The swimsuit she wore was a white one-piece that hugged her pale skin and left the hips wide open. Good hips, Marshall noted with hidden glee, before forcing himself to look away from the beautiful instructor to the boy she was teaching.

Robert Winters, Jr. was a skinny boy who didn't seem to have any muscles anywhere around his body. He didn't have the graceful white skin that Anastasiya had but rather the pasty white skin of a teenager that didn't know anything about skincare – or hair-care for that matter, Marshall noted, gazing upon Robert's tangled mess of black hair. He was a world away from his father, Robert Winters, Sr. but shared the vibrant green eyes of the Winters household that ran through the family for generations.

The boy's days were filled with lessons that his father brought him with the finest tutors that money could buy in all of Russia. This swimming instructor had gotten eight of the thirteen total gold medals in the Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She had been younger back then but Marshall reckoned that age had done her wonders. She was more beautiful now than she had been back then. Her accolades were echoed in all the trainers that Robert's father had hired – experts in their fields. Already today, Robert had had his English tutor and piano tutor – two hours on each.

"Vy gotovy?" Anastasiya asked as Robert stepped into the pool with her. He shivered in the cold and Anatasiya tutted with a smile. She was always one of the more friendly tutors. "Net, vy dolzhny prygat' polnost'yu." To demonstrate, Anastasiya dropped into the deep end of the pool, the water rushed up her body and disappearing in a mass of bubbles. Then her head broke water, her raven hair slicked back enhancing her sharp cheeks and strong jaw. "Teper' vasha cohered."

Robert nodded and echoed Anastasiya's movements, dropping into the pool much less gracefully. He resurfaced with a gasp and shook out his matted hair.

"Khorosho!" Anastasiya enthused with a short clap of her hands. "Segodnya my prodolzhim bok o bok."

Marshall watched as she started to teach Robert, the minutes blending into one another. What Marshall wouldn't give to swap places with the kid, to swim in the pool with the instructor. Hell, maybe he'd try his luck after the lesson anyway and see if he couldn't get a one-on-one session. As his thoughts turned to the endless possibilities a night with Anastasiya could offer, Marshall felt a faint buzzing in his wrist.

His face didn't change but Marshall's mind suddenly went alert. He lifted his wrist and glanced to the watch on it as if he were merely checking the time. Seeing the tiny flickering green light underneath the plastic covering only confirmed what Marshall had suspected – Ryona, his handler, had contacted him. But she had said that this was a deep cover mission and would only contact in case of emergency. Generally Ryona was true to her word in missions and never contacted him until after the contract was finished.

Marshall watched the lesson for a few more minutes so as to seem natural before he got up off the deck-chair, leaving his glass of partially drunk Black Russian on the table, and wondering down the smooth patio with the cigar in his hand. He nodded to one of the other security guards as he passed, who was ogling Anastasiya with a lot less subtlety that Marshall had. The guard paid no attention and Marshall just shook his head as he made his way into the gardens.

Marshall was not into gardens in the slightest but even he knew that the Winters Gardens were one of the most beautiful in all of Russia, if not all the world. Acres upon Acres of varying flowers, trees, and bushes that spread from the Manor like a spider's web with the Winters Manor at the centre. He casually strolled along a gravelled path, leaving the manor and most of the guards behind. Eventually he reached an iron-wrought bench on the corner of the small lake at the north-east corner of the premises. The water was still with a family of ducks gently gliding across the surface.

The bench was situated in a small copse and made it the most suitable place for a covert conversation; a place he had scouted out as soon as he had made it onto the Winters security team. If anyone heard his conversation it would just make a whole lot of trouble and Marshall really didn't feel like getting into a fire-fight if he could avoid it.

He sat on the bench and took a deep drag of the cigar, savouring the smoky flavour. Then he twisted the watch clockwise, anti-clockwise, and then clockwise again. "This is Mathers," Marshall spoke, not moving from his casual position. To anyone watching from a distance it would simply look like he was having a peaceful smoke by the lake.

"Marshall," the voice of his handler, Ryona, came from the watch. It was quiet but discernible. "Are you clear?"

"Wouldn't be speakin' if I wasn't."

"Don't get snarky with me," Ryona sighed. "There's been a… change of plans."

Marshall didn't like her tone of voice. "What change of plans?" He asked bluntly. He didn't have time to play around with her. A smoke break would only last a little while. Too long and any watchers would grow suspicious.

"We've received a counter payment."

Marshall narrowed his eyes as he took another drag of the cigar. A counter payment? That meant that someone had provided more money than the initial contract given. Robert Winters Sr. had paid the company Marshall worked for a lot of money to protect his son. Quite frankly, it was one of the easiest and best-paid jobs Marshall had ever taken. The security of the manor was so good that chances were any would-be attackers wouldn't make it ten foot into the grounds. The money was so great that the counter-offer would have to have been a sizable offer.

"The contract has changed," Ryona continued. "The boy, Robert Winters, is to be taken immediately."

"Taken?" Marshall echoed, actually surprised. He wasn't certain what he had expected but it certainly wasn't that. So Ryona wanted him to kidnap the boy? That was a very big risk but he knew the payment would be worth it. Ryona wouldn't have accepted such a mission without a payday. She had never driven Marshall wrong and besides, he had done kidnappings before. "When and where?" Marshall asked simply.

"As soon as, the contact requests. The problem is the where, though. The contact wants the rendezvous point to be at the Mandala Hotel… in Berlin."

Marshall nearly choked on his cigar and fought to keep his posture natural. "You want me to take the boy to Berlin? That's a frickin' nineteen hour journey by car!" Marshall took a deep breath. "This worth it?"

"The pay is good. The contact is golden, I've checked. This is your contract, Marshall, understood?"

"Understood," Marshall nodded. "Mathers out." With that, he twisted the watch again and stood up, stretching. As soon as possible, eh? Well, Marshall made it a point to look for any escape routes and he knew of a number of them. With another person – likely unwilling – made the routes less but still doable. He mused to himself and realised that the best time to take Robert Winters Jr. would be when his lesson was finished. He would be taking a shower after the lesson and would be mostly alone.

Marshall started formulating his plan, whistling lightly as he made his way down the gravel path back towards the Winters Manor.

* * *

 _11:52 CET_

 _Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden_

"Tack så mycket för att du lyssnar," The gentle voice of Professor Johann Scheider finished and he took a bow in front of the thirty or so Gothenburg students. "Jag hoppas att jag inte gick för länge." This drew a chuckle from the crowd and the corners of Johann's lips turned up for a brief smile. He straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. "Du kan springa nu, om du vill," Johann announced and immediately there was a great ruckus of noise as the students gathered their notebooks, pens, and supplies back into their bags.

As they started down towards the podium, there was movement at the base of the wooden structure and the great Scottish Deerhound that was always with the Professor let out a wide yawn and stood up. With a beautiful grey and black coat, Jäger was elderly but elegant. Jäger padded over to the door and offered his head to the first student who reached the door. The student hesitantly looked at the Professor and Johann inclined his head.

"Oroa dig inte. Jäger kommer inte att bita. Han är lika passiv som jag," Johann reassured. With this, the student gently petted the great Deerhound on the head. The student left and Jäger waited for the next student. This pattern continued as the students grew more friendly with Jäger. Jäger's pink tongue hung out happily at all the attention until the final student left, plunging the brown lecture hall into silence.

"En sådan uppmärksammande sökare, Jäger. Vad ska vi göra med dig?" Johann chuckled, brushing his own long fingers through the long hair of Jäger's head.

Professor Johann Schneider had quickly grown to be the most popular lecturer at the Gothernburg University in the three months he had been stationed there. With his unique appearance, his calm yet learned atmosphere, and the constant presence of Jäger, Johann was present in most conversations around the University.

Whereas many of the lecturers wore simple suits and looks of grey and black, the Professor was anything but. From the immensely long blonde hair that had turned grey many years ago that was tied in a triple tri-weave braid, to the thick moustache that hung slightly down on either side of his lips, to the fact that he was still in amazing shape for being sixty-seven years of age, the Professor proved that lectures didn't have to be boring old speeches. He encouraged questions and conversation between the students and himself. They were here to learn and conversation was extremely important to learning.

Gathering his papers together, Johann slipped them into his briefcase and walked out of the lecture hall with Jäger at his heels. They walked through the crowded corridors and students and fellow teachers alike greeted Johann like an old friend. Indeed, in the three months he had worked there, he had cemented his legacy as the famous Professor Johann Schneider.

Making his way to his office, Johann sat on his chair and steepled his fingers, simply gazing at the oddities spread around his room. The collection was strange, filled with small knick-knacks he had gathered on his journeys. Whether it be the small statue of a naked gnome playing the harp or the tall spear with a deadly point, each possession had their own story to tell. Even the books that lined the walls were books Johann had collected. Some were children's books, others were reports, even others were part of much larger collections. To the Professor, it didn't matter if they were old or if they were new – as long as they were interesting and told a great story, then that was all he need.

Jäger dropped to his belly in front of the desk and put his head on his paws, closing his eyes and relaxing in the beam of the sun that shone through the wide window on the edge of Johann's office.

Johann flipped open the thin laptop on his desk and went to his e-mail. He found it was always a good idea to check the e-mails after every lecture – there was always much mail for him from all over the world. Other universities requesting him to lecture at their halls or requesting new written texts. Then there were the e-mails from students, old and new, who often sent thanks through the computer. It was always pleasant to see how his teachers had changed people's lives for the better.

Immediately, Johann's eyes were drawn to a particular e-mail that had been sent only twenty minutes previously.

 **SEBASTIAN BERGEMANN -** **BERGEMANN & SOHN BESTATTUNGSKULTUR - 11:38**

The moment Johann Schneider saw the name 'Bergemann' a strange feeling ran up the back of his neck. A feeling he hadn't felt for twenty long years, ever since his father passed away. The grief was almost a shock and Johann stared at the screen until Jäger stood up, padded over, and put his head mournfully on Johann's lap. Johann absently stroked Jäger's head as he stared at the screen.

Twenty years before, the Bergemann funeral home in his home city of Berlin had taken care of his father when he passed. It was the same funeral home that had cared for Johann's mother as well, six years before that. Seeing the name again though, Johann couldn't understand why it was there. It was only he and Jäger now.

Johann clicked the e-mail and read through the contents slowly. As he reached the bottom, he could feel his eyes grow warm. Johann immediately leant back in his chair and closed his eyes tightly, muttering a single name… "Sofie…"

The e-mail described how Sofie Weber had passed away the day before. Sofie was Johann's first tutor when he had attended Cambridge university in England when he was eighteen all those many years ago. She had shaped Johann's entire life. The e-mail explained how Sofie had no known relatives and that the only contact she had given in her will had been Johann himself. Johann couldn't be surprised.

Originally, every year he made certain to visit Sofie twice, travelling to her home in London. When they were student and teacher they had grown close to the point of friendship. When Johann had finished his education at Cambridge, Sofie had actually cried and Johann had promised to visit – and so he did. He fondly remembered the visits, eating her rock-hard cakes and biscuits, working on the same jigsaw she would leave for every visit, and simply talking to her when no-one else would. She had retired from teaching not to soon after Johann left and moved back to her home in Germany – where she had originally hailed from and made it particularly easier to visit - and just as the e-mail said, she had no other close friends or family. She often said Johann was family and that was something that touched Johann to his very core.

So her passing away hurt. Johann had a fair share of people he knew who had passed away but Sofie… Sofie was on the category of his own parents. There was no doubt that he would go to ensure she had a respectable burial. Gothenburg University would understand, Johann had no doubt. He would request a week's leave in order to travel to Berlin and sort out everything that needed sorted out.

Sofie Weber deserved that much.


	13. Friendly Concern

**Chapter Eleven**

 **Friendly Concern**

 _12:13 CET_

 _R_ _üdtligen-Alchenflüh, Switzerland_

 _21 Hours Remaining_

The Peugeot Tepee rumbled along the E25, having just passed through the municipality of Rüdtligen-Alchenflüh, and was filled with utter silence. Rose was driving, concentrating on the bland grey road in front of her. In the two hours she had been driving the roads had quickly grown old, although the views as they descended down the eastern side of the Jura Mountains, heading south from Saales where they had separated from Axel, Tanzi, and Jamie, had been quite something for the eyes.

Rose's thoughts were still on Jamie and the conversation from before they left. The revelation of who her mother was and what her father had done… Rose couldn't help but worry about what it meant. Jamie had mentioned that a friend had covered the whole thing up and that just didn't seem right in Rose's mind. Surely, if it had been an accident as Jamie had told her, then they wouldn't have needed to cover anything up? From what Jamie had said it had been an accident. It wasn't like Mike had intentionally pushed Marie down the stairs… and that was the thought that had been lingering around Rose's mind ever since they had left Saales.

What if it _had_ been deliberate? It was clear from the photo that the group of Mike, Marie, William, Jamie, and the unseen Lisa had been close as friends could be. What if Mike had decided that the best thing for the infant Rose would be to get rid of Marie, permanently, so he could get ownership; what if the other three had agreed with it? Rose could imagine William siding with his brother and Jamie would without a doubt. That was another thing that was slowly filling Rose's thoughts, corrupting them. Jamie and her relationship with Rose and Mike himself.

Jamie had explained how she had held Rose close and the way she said it, the way she spoke it… there wasn't mistaking the fact that Jamie had felt something very close to, if not akin to, motherhood. Rose hated it but she couldn't help but wonder about the relationship between Jamie and Mike. Could they have been in love?

Certainly Jamie had been in her childhood just like a mother, had taught her, laughed with her, and comforted her. If ever Rose had a mother it had been Jamie. She sifted through her memories to think of Jamie and Mike together and it certainly seemed like they were close. Rose could recall them linking arms when she was eight walking along a beach… but was that simple friendship or something more?

It wouldn't have been the strangest story in the world. A sister falling for her sibling's love interest. It was a tale as old as time. It wouldn't be strange, either, for Mike to finally decide that Marie wasn't going to be with him so he decided to be with Jamie. Only he would have wanted his daughter and so dispatched of Marie to get her.

What if it was more than an accident? Once again the question rang through Rose's mind like an everlasting loop of misery. She knew she shouldn't think such things but what if it _was_ true?

…A murderer…

If Mike Milano was a murderer than that changed absolutely everything… everything that Rose had ever known. It made Jamie and William accomplices and it meant that, much as she suspected, the DSI weren't as honest in their motives as they appeared to be. Covering up accidents that shouldn't have needed to be covered up… the things Evrard had hinted at back before Tanzi had worked her ability on him…

"…ose… Rose!"

"Huh?" Rose blinked and shook her thoughts away quickly at Siddharth's voice. She glanced in the rear-view mirror to see him in the back, looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

"You," Siddharth said bluntly, flipping the lid of his laptop shut for the first time. "You've been stuck in your thoughts for the whole drive so far. You've barely said a word to me, even when I informed you about the Professor and that agent."

"…Sorry…" Rose murmured, feeling guilt lance up her spine. It wasn't fair to Siddharth to keep so quiet in her own thoughts. She opened her mouth to explain the feelings bubbling up within her and then shut it again. She wasn't sure what made her keep her thoughts from Siddharth – her best friend – but she couldn't say the words. Instead she focused back on the road and said, "It's the agent, Marshall. I've been thinking about what we did."

"What _I_ did," Siddharth corrected, not horribly. "Look, the fact that Marshall wasn't a PMC as we thought but an actual agent of a secret company was an unplanned roadblock. I know kidnapping the Winters boy seems extreme but… well, it kills two birds with one stone, right?" Siddharth said firmly. "Getting them in the same place in Berlin… and then getting the Professor there as well. We'll be able to get three people on the List on our side."

"By kidnapping and lying about dead friends…" Rose shook her head. "It doesn't seem right."

"Rose…" Siddharth said carefully. "I don't like it but… we're saving their lives. That's why Axel gave us the tools and supplies we'd need in case conversations went south… because we may have to do things we don't like to save their lives."

It seemed Rose had successfully got Siddharth to believe that the situation with Marshall and Professor Schneider was what had been bothering her. To be fair, it _had_ been bothering her, just not as much as Jamie and her father. However now they were on this train of thought, Rose couldn't help but bring up another point. "So how do you think we stop it?" Rose asked. "Has Tanzi said anything about it?"

Siddharth flipped open his laptop as he replied, "Tanzi mentioned that a substance called Nectar saved her and her friends last time. She said that it comes from those Rifts that have been opening all over the world."

"I did wonder what that Nectar stuff was. It was mentioned on her report," Rose said. "It didn't elaborate."

"DSI reports don't tend to elaborate," Siddharth said grimly. "But unless we stumble across an errant Rift, we won't have any luck getting any of this Nectar. Besides, Tanzi mentioned that a man she had met _prepared_ it somehow. I think this Nectar is a no-go."

Siddharth had been speaking to Tanzi on an online chat-page on the laptop. While they all had phones, Siddharth had decided it was safer to speak in text than in words. He mentioned something about it being easier to encrypt and privatise conversations with text than with words but Rose blanked on most of the scientist nonsense. The only phone-call he had made to Tanzi was telling her to buy or… acquire… a netbook or laptop of some kind.

"I am researching two other things that Tanzi mentioned this man she spoke to talked about. A 'Chalice of Life' and seven 'Totems'. She said the Chalice was apparently lost in the Al-Sharqiyya desert but I'm not entirely convinced. The very little I've found about it indicates it's been _hidden_ not lost. Any information about these Totems seems to be locked away into the dark recesses of the DSI database – even I will find it hard getting in there," Siddharth shrugged. "But I'm giving it a go. Hopefully I can figure out one of these two things, then we can save everyone on the List."

Rose nodded slowly. A chalice and totems? It all sounded so strange yet she had no doubt it was at least based on reality. After all, she had worked in the DSI, the Department of Supernatural Investigation, who dealt in ghosts, powers, and all manner of strange and wonderful things.

"And Rose," Siddharth said, looking at the rear-view mirror to catch Rose's eye. "I know that Marshall and the Professor aren't what is on your mind. If you don't want to speak to me then I understand but… often it is better to speak about it rather than lock it down deep inside." Rose couldn't help but smile ever-so-slightly. Of course Siddharth realised it. There was no fooling him. "You know you can trust me," Siddharth continued, smiling softly. "If you want to talk about it then I will listen."

* * *

 _12:46_

 _Saint-Dizier, France_

The grass of the fields on either side of the N4, with the lush trees rising up and lining the horizon with the commune of Saint-Dizier coming closer and closer, would be a beautiful sight on any other day. The early afternoon wind brushed through, sending waves upon waves of grass to roll over each other like a great green sea. Jamie stared absently through the window of the Citroën with a hand on her cheek, looking at the beautiful scenery but not taking it in at all.

Her thoughts resided on three people, all of the same family. Mike, William, and Rose Milano. She had spoken to Rose before they left and, as promised to Mike, explained to her about Marie Root and the history between her and Mike and the result of Rose's birth. Seeing Rose's reaction, Jamie was extremely worried. She had expected shouting, anger, sadness, even tears… but she hadn't expected Rose to take it in her stride. Watching Rose drive off, Jamie had wondered whether she had only thrown more onto Rose's shoulders.

After all, with the death of her father, the soon-to-be death of William, and the vision she had seen, Rose must have had too much on her plate already. _Stupid_ , Jamie thought. There was no reason she couldn't have waited until later to tell her… but that wasn't true. Jamie couldn't help but think of what life would hold for all of them when William's death inevitably came. Certainly, she, Tanzi, Axel, and Siddharth weren't on the List but Rose was. The people they were going to save were. Jamie had no doubt that she or any of the other three would do their best to save the lives of those on the List, even if it meant being put on the List itself.

It was entirely possibly that this time tomorrow, one, two, or all of them would be dead just like Mike… just like William… just like Marie. Jamie often didn't spare much thought for her sister. While her death had been tragic and Jamie had mourned her, Marie's reaction to the birth of Rose, her break-down, her pure hatred… Jamie couldn't believe her own sister had that in her. She couldn't understand how you could _hate_ the birth of a child like she did.

Jamie had held the infant Rose in her arms, felt the gentle breathing, and had felt… empowered, she supposed the best word for it would be. In that moment – only then, never before, never since – had she wondered what it would be like to have her own child. But that type of thinking was useless. There was no child in her future and Rose was enough. Jamie saw Rose not only as a friend, but truly family. Often, their relationship was like an older sister and a younger sister but certainly it used to be that Jaime was the mother figure. A fact not lost on her. Being there for Rose when Mike couldn't make it…

Jaime couldn't help but wonder if there was anything hidden behind Rose. On the surface she seemed happy, content but… had she and Mike raised her well? A father who loved his daughter but often wasn't there and a figure that acted a mother but wasn't a true mother. As Rose grew older the more likely it was that she would be left at home for weeks at a time. William used to babysit but even he had his job… the DSI…

With the exception of Marie, the four of them had joined the DSI; Mike, William, herself, and Lisa. Lisa, of course, was already in the DSI but it didn't take long after Marie's death and successive cover-up that Jamie had joined the DSI. Mike joined after he came back from his visit to the moon and William was the last to join. But they all ended up in the Department of Supernatural Investigation… After-all, whatever choice did they have? With what happened to Marie, with what the DSI did, saving Mike's career and livelihood… they owed a debt to them.

"You'll burst a blood vessel thinking so hard," Tanzi's voice drew Jamie's thoughts from her reverie and Jamie turned, looking to Tanzi who was looking slightly concerned.

"…Sorry…" Jamie smiled weakly. "Stressful times and all that."

"…I understand that all too well," Tanzi said, leaning back in the seat. Axel was driving, happily humming along to faded music on the radio. Tanzi closed her eyes and crossed her arms. "You know… back in Eastbourne, after I had my first vision, after we stopped the crash… after Ruby explained to me about the List… I was actually feeling really confident."

Jamie straightened up, looking at Tanzi with renewed focus. Tanzi had spoken of Eastbourne and of Ruby before but she rarely spoke of what happened during the time she was on the List.

"There was a man – he was homeless. Daniel Gecko," Tanzi spoke the name slowly. "He was the first on the List and I went out to see if I could save him. I met him in that shelter and I saw just what a broken man he was. He ran away from me but I gave chase… I couldn't let him die, you know? Ruby was so adamant that we could save everyone and I believed her. We eventually came to a stop at the edge of an incline and… and I spoke to Daniel. I learned who he was… what he had done… and I looked into those eyes of his, I looked past his craziness and… you know what I saw? I saw hope." Tanzi smiled bitterly.

"I remember it so vividly. I promised him that I could help him. Daniel looked at me and he smiled and I saw that I had _finally_ got to him. This was it; I had managed to save him… He raised his hand to hold onto my own and then…" Tanzi shook her head. "The ground broke. He fell. He died in an instant. All that work I had done to get him to trust me, all that hope I saw in his eyes, that potential… gone. Out of everything that happened in Eastbourne, Daniel's death… that's the one I still see in my nightmares. The blood on the tracks… it haunts me.

"I spent so long after that dwelling on my thoughts… on my decision. Perhaps if I had left him be he wouldn't have died. Perhaps the chase was what made him die. I played it back in my head so many times wondering what could have been but…" Tanzi shrugged slowly and opened her eyes, looking to Jamie with a smile. "We can't change the decisions we've made. There is no point on the ifs and the could-have-been's. I don't know what you're thinking about, Jamie, but I know you had a talk with Rose and at a guess it's about whatever happened between you two." Jamie couldn't help but smile. Tanzi was a lot sharper than she gave her credit for. "You know you can trust me," Tanzi continued, gently putting a gloved hand on Jamie's shoulder. "If you want to talk about it then I will listen."


	14. Taken

**Chapter Twelve**

 **Taken**

 _16:07_

 _Mozhaysk, Russia_

 _20 Hours Remaining_

Robert Winters Jr. felt strangely comfortable, rocked by an unknown force, almost lulling him right back to sleep again. He had just woken from a pleasant dream involving that instructor, the lovely Anastasiya, but the details slipped away from him. He tried to grasp at them but they disappeared into the recesses of his unconscious mind. Submitting himself to defeat, Rob allowed himself to begrudgingly open his eyes.

For a moment, Rob couldn't quite understand just what he was looking at. It was dark but there was light enough to make out the faint white panels on either side of him. Behind him there was a set of double doors and in front of him was a mesh grating that shadowed the other side beyond detail. It was clear he was in a vehicle – a van, if he had to guess – that was going quite fast going by the shifts that were knocking his shoulders against one of the panels.

His mind felt foggy but Rob forced himself to his feet, feeling a weight tug at his ankle. He frowned and looked down and barely registered what he was looking at. There was a chain wrapped around his ankle, with a padlock tightly pulling the links together. The chain itself was hooped around a metal hoop, locked with another padlock. It wasn't even a combination padlock but one that required a key.

A shiver of panic ran through Rob's spine and he grabbed at the chain, pulling it wildly without a care of the noise he was making. The bangs and rattles echoed around the van for a frantic five minutes before Rob finally realised that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the chains or the locks. He hadn't any strength in his thin frame at the best of the time and his body still felt sluggish and sleepy.

"Zdravstvuyte?!" He called out with fear in his eyes. The shivers in the boys spine were getting worse. "Zdravstvuyte?!"

There was no answer but it seemed like the van was slowing… or was that his imagination? Rob fell back to the floor of the van, fear overtaking him. He hugged his knees to his chest and tried to remember as best as he can what had happened. He had just finished the lesson with Anastasiya, he could remember being embarrassed that he hadn't done a very good job. After the lesson had finished, he had gone to shower off the pool water and… and…

"…Chto proiskhodit…?" Rob muttered to himself, rocking back and forth in rhythm with the van's movements. He ran his hands through his hair, moving them back over his neck. Then he felt something strange under his left thumb. Some kind of small lump that he knew hadn't been there in the morning when he had woken up. It was almost like a… a hole!

The memory came back to Rob unbidden. He had been showering when he heard movement behind him. Before he could do anything a black glove had latched itself around his mouth and he had felt a sharp jab in his neck. He had fallen to the floor and saw a black-clad figure before falling into unconsciousness. A different shiver ran up Rob; the fact that he was not naked now, but dressed in his own clothes, meant that someone had dressed him. The knowledge that someone had put their hands on him shook him to his very core.

Just who was it, though? Who would dare to kidnap Robert Winters son? Rob was at least slightly comforted by the fact that he knew his father would spare every resource in order to find him. He was intent on Rob being the heir to the whole kingdom, so to speak, so he would do everything in his massive power to find him. The question was… did his father know? Rob didn't know how long it had been since he was taken but his father wouldn't come back to the manor until night-time, since he was at the company head-office. Surely the servants or teachers would know, though, and get in contact with Robert Winters… Rob had to only hope that people were searching for him.

The van suddenly jerked to a halt and Rob fell roughly forward but he quickly scampered up to his feet to spin around, facing the van's doors. He heard a door at the front open and then shut, heard heavy footsteps, and then heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. The double doors were thrown open and Rob's captor stood looking inside the van.

Rob was surprised to recognise Marshall Mathers, the professional PMC hired by his father as a personal bodyguard for Rob. The man was always lurking around during his lessons… in fact, Rob could remember Marshall being there for his swimming lesson, though he had left midway through it for some reason.

"Alright, kid," Marshall spoke in an almost bored voice, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. He was wearing civilian gear with shades and gloves over his hands. He looked nothing like the professional looking bodyguard that he had been back at the manor but rather like a perfect image of what a van driver in Russia would look like. The glasses at the thick jacket hid the fact that Marshall wasn't Russian at a glance. "Here's how this is going to work. You do what I say and I don't hurt you. You keep quiet and I don't hurt you. Do you understand?"

Something about Marshall's body posture send fear stabbing through Rob's chest. He could only nod, sweat gathering on his forehead.

"I want verbal confirmation, kid. Do you understand?"

"D-Da…" Robert's voice came out in barely a squeak.

"We're far away from your home and your father's men are looking in the complete opposite direction. So do not hold any hope for anyone saving you."

Rob felt like he was plunged into cold water. He looked up to Marshall with wide eyes. "Z-Zachem?" There was a sudden blur and a sharp pain on Rob's cheek as Marshall took one step into the back of the van and slapped Rob's cheek with the back of his hand. Rob drew backwards in pain, clutching his burning cheek.

"What did I say?" Marshall said in the same strangely bored tone. "You speak when I tell you to. Now, I'd rather not keep you locked up back here like an animal. If I were to be pulled over for any particular reason I want you to be in front so you can corroborate my story, understood? If I unlock you and put you beside me in the passenger's seat, can I trust you to act your part?"

Rob wasn't sure whether to speak or not so kept his lips sealed, trying to understand the situation he was in.

"If you _don't_ act the part… things will not go particularly well for you…" Marshall pushed aside his coat and Rob got a horrifying glimpse at a small firearm tucked in a holster at Marshall's hip. "So, do we have a deal?"

Rob's head jerked up and down. "D-Da—"

"And speak English!" Marshall suddenly snapped, his voice sounding irritated but his face remaining stoic. "I've had enough of your harsh language. Understood, kid?"

"D… Y…Yes…" Robert muttered, the word feeling strained on his tongue. He hadn't been doing particularly well in his English lessons. He understood it well enough but his mouth found it hard to formulate the words.

"Wonderful," Marshall pulled a key from his pocket and leaned forward, unlocking the padlock that was on the chain around Rob's ankle. With a click the padlock came free and Rob immediately took action. Even though fear was driving stakes into his heart, his dived forward wildly and pushed past and evidently surprised Marshall. Rob tumbled out of the back of the van onto grass and stood, looking around wildly for a moment. The van had stopped in the middle of a small grassy clearing surrounding on all sides by dark trees.

Robert Winters had personally taught his son about the possibility of something like this happening. Robert Winters was very well aware that his position in Moscow and his connections would make him and his family potential targets. While Rob had never had a heart-to-heart conversation with his father, he had the lessons to at least remember. At Robert had always told Rob that if ever he was in a situation like this to run – and don't stop. Don't try to play the hero, don't try to be brave, don't try to fight – just run.

So Rob Winters dug his feet into the grass and took off into the forest…

…He only made it one step before something latched onto the back of his collar and his was flung off his feet. Rob was thrown like a doll and slammed hard against the open door of the van. He bounced off and hit the floor, his elbows and knees scraping through the mud. Then he felt an unimaginable pain in his ribs as a heavy boot met it. Rob fell onto his back, gasping for air like a fish out of water. He stared up at the cloudy sky as Marshall Mathers leaned over him.

"…Kid…" Marshall sighed, letting out a puff on his cigarette. "Why do you gotta be so foolish? All that happens now is you get hurt." Marshall reached down, grabbed Rob's collar, and picked him up off the floor as if he weighed nothing at all. Then all of a sudden Marshall slammed his fist deep into Rob's stomach. Rob felt all the air leave him and Marshall dropped him to the mud. Rob fell with a thud, gasping, clutching at his stomach.

After a moment Marshall squatted down in front of Rob and took the cigarette out from his mouth. "Kid, listen. I don't want to hurt you if I can help it. But if you don't follow my go-to rules then I _will_ hurt you. For every infraction I will hurt you more and more. I won't kill you, kid, oh no. But next time you disobey or otherwise go against me, I will break a rib. The time after that I will break a finger. If you do it again, I will cut that finger off and deliver it to your father in a pretty box with a ribbon. Maybe I'll add some teeth in with it." Marshall looked down at Rob and pushed up his sunglasses. "So do I have to drug you again or will you sit in the front like a good little kid and act the part?"

"D-D-Da…" Rob stuttered, tears stinging his eyes.

"English!" Marshall growled and Rob flinched, cowering in a heap on the ground. "Christ, kid, with all the lessons you've had over the last year you can be pretty damn stupid. So get in the van and don't make me hurt you. We've got a long drive and I want it to be as uneventful as it possibly can be."


	15. Tsomo

**Chapter Thirteen**

 **Tsomo**

 _14:28 CET  
Varberg, Halland, Sweden  
_ _19 Hours Remaining_

The city of Varberg and its sandy beaches slid by as the silver BMW Z4 calmly cruised down the E6, leaving the traffic behind as it seamlessly made its way through what sparse afternoon traffic there was. Shrubbery surrounded the E6 on all sides, making a brown-green horizon that looked almost like a painting with the sun beaming down in the sky, slightly obscured by clouds.

Professor Johann Schneider leaned back in his seat, relishing the wind running through past his head from the open roof. Jäger sat on the passenger seat, his head happily leaning over the door, his tongue lolling out and his fur rolling back and forth like a field of aged grass. Jäger was far too big to take a plane to Berlin and besides, Johann liked to drive when there was a lot on his mind and there was nothing like driving south in Sweden, where the rocky terrain led to the beaches and sunshine.

The death of Sofie Weber had affected him more than he liked to admit, Johann had realized almost as soon as he had set off from the Gothenburg University, leaving after the morning lectures with permission from the Director himself to take leave. The fact that Sofie had passed at the age of seventy-nine peacefully in her sleep was what was bothering Johann. He was getting old, he knew, even though he kept his body in far superior shape that most people his age.

Twelve years.

That was the difference between he and Sofie Weber. In twelve years, would his time come? Would he manage to continue on longer or would he perhaps pass earlier? These thoughts weren't strangers to Johann. Over the course of his life he had bounced back and forth on these thoughts. He wasn't scared of death, no, Johann's time spent at the Monastery of Ki had changed his view on the concept of death, what it meant, and what was next.

But that didn't stop it from bothering him. One of the questions Johann had always posed to his mentors back at the monastery had been would he retain _himself_ in the next life? Surely if the goal was the break the cycle of Samsara then one would need to retain information from the previous life in order to apply to the next. None of his teachers could give him an answer he felt content with. Some said that they would retain pieces of this life onto the next, while others claimed that only with a life of pure meditation would you take the necessary information onto the next life. When Johann had first arrived at the monastery he had assumed that Buddhist religion was the same wherever but much like Christianity there were many branches, beliefs, and possibilities. He had toured the whole world, visiting different temples and monasteries in order to learn all he can and perhaps form his own theory on what would happen after death.

These thoughts naturally led Johann to another memory – one not long after he had left the Monastery of Ki. He had been walking away from the monastery for the final time in order to seek out further knowledge. Jäger let out a small whine as if he understood what his friend was thinking and moved his head from the window to Johann's lap, where Johann instinctively started stroking the long fur on his nape.

It had been twenty-nine long years ago, in the depths of the Himalayas…

* * *

 _Johann Schneider glanced to his left, down the great valley the tore a great cleft in the land. Many facets of water snakes intertwined between each other, joining into bigger streams before separating again to travel their own passages. He glanced to his right, where great rocky mountains rose high above tipped with white, casting cold shadow over the valley, blocking the early morning sun._

 _Johann did not look back towards the solid Monastery of Ki that he knew stood resolutely behind him. It had stood for a thousand years and would strand a thousand more, long after everyone on this Earth had turned to bones. To look back was to be defeated. No, Johann had to look forward onto what was to come and what was waiting._

 _He adjusted the wide-brimmed straw hat on his head, secured the flowing orange robe with the belt cinched around his waist and flipped the braid from his shoulder to the middle of the back. His beard had grown long over the ten years he had studied there though had been neatly trimmed so it ran smooth to the centre of his chest. With his trusty walking stick – a stick he had carved himself over the course of the first year he had been at the monastery – he continued to walk through the single path that led to monastery._

 _It was a thin path, often dangerous with crumbling rocks and fencing that had long since fallen over and been half-covered with loose stones and grass. Occasionally he would pass small statues that helped guide the way when the path was lost to the wild. He walked nearly four miles at a leisurely pace, not in any kind of rush, until he arrived at the closest village to the monastery, the small village of Kibber that stood hidden among the mountains._

 _Johann had been planning on walking straight through the village to continue his journey but stopped at the sight of a small boy on a stony outcrop, swinging his legs back and forth and staring down at the steep incline that led into another valley. Johann couldn't say what drew him to this boy but nevertheless he slowly walked over. It was awfully early for such a young boy to be up and about._

 _He greeted the boy in Lhasa Tibetan, the most common form of the language. The boy looked at Johann and his eyes widened slightly at the look of him. For a moment the boy stared with wide eyes before he simply greeted Johann back and looked back down to the valley._

 _Johann waited for a moment before asking if he could join the boy. The boy merely nodded without looking back up at Johann so he sat next to the boy, laying his walking stick gently between them, intending it to act as a kind of safety barrier between he and the boy._

 _It seemed to work, as Johann slowly started talking to the boy, learning his short tale. The boy was named Tsomo and his father and mother had both passed only a week before and he was being raised by a stranger. Something about Johann's look seemed to drive the boy to continue talking. He wanted to meet his parents once again as his new owner punished him for every minor discretion of the rules. He had shown Johann the welts on his arms and chest to prove this. He was sitting on the outcrop in order to meet his parents again._

 _Johann had intended to speak to Tsomo, to give him the wisdom he himself had been given by his master at the monastery. He had intended to comfort, to put belief in the boy, to say that it would get better, that the struggle would turn and the day would come when he could break out from his situation._

 _Then Tsomo had done something Johann had never before seen. Tsomo raised his arm, confessed that it wasn't just the guardian who hurt him… it was everyone – the woman, the men, the children – they had shunned him. When Johann had asked how they could possibly harm a child, Tsomo squeezed his hand shut and Johann had watched amazed as the skin seemed to crack and grow hard, almost like the mountains around them. This effect continued up Tsomo's entire body until he was sitting as still as the rock from which he looked._

 _Johann was speechless. What could he say upon seeing something so… so beyond expectation. He had read scriptures at the Monastery that had detailed strange happenings – men who changed shape or who emitted fire from their hands – but this… seeing this… realising that those texts were perhaps more than just wrong word of mouth… Johann's conviction grew. This boy, Tsomo, he was special._

 _Johann told Tsomo exactly this. Tsomo listened and then he cried, the first time the boy had cried during the whole story, the tears running down his craggy face. Tsomo thanked Johann for not flinching away from him, for not naming him a freak, for not running. He thanked Johann for being the only kind soul in the village since his parents and that he would always remember Johann and his kindness to the end of his days…_

 _Then the boy had jumped._

* * *

"Alle meine Bemühungen waren umsonst, Jäger…" Johann muttered, pulling himself away from the uncomfortable memory of the boy's broken body at the bottom of the valley, split apart to become one with the stone he was able to shape himself into. He refocused on the road. "Ich habe mich immer gefragt, Jäger, ob ich etwas anderes hätte tun können ... dass ich Tsomo's Leben hätte retten können ..."

Jäger whined and nuzzled his muzzle against Johann's stomach as if to say that it wasn't Johann's fault.

"Ich weiß, Jäger, ich weiß,"Johann murmured, watching the scenery pass on by. Johann didn't speak but he did think on what he had thought the day after that horrifying event. He had come to the conclusion that perhaps the choice the boy made was the right choice. Suicide was frowned upon at the Monastery of Ki but Johann couldn't help but wonder that if the boy had decided to live if he wouldn't have been killed by his peers because of what he could do… or if the boy would lash out and attack his tormentors, thus condemning himself to Naraka. Suicide, while seen as wrong, wouldn't send Tsomo down that path.

Perhaps by ending his own life Tsomo would have been rebirthed as somebody with a better chance at living the life a boy his age should live. Perhaps it was the best choice he could have made, to plummet down that valley… but perhaps… perhaps Johann was just trying to make excuses…

With a sigh, Johann adjusted his posture and let his mind wonder back to Sofie and his own life. When his end came, would he make excuses or would he simply accept it? Johann couldn't be certain on the choice he would make but he certainly liked to believe that he would accept it instead of denying it. What would life hold for him the next time around? Johann wished that he would remember his current self but the simple fact of the matter was – and this was something Johann had spoken to his masters at length about – if one retained any thoughts in the next life then surely there would be many reports on such events.

His master had spoken that to reveal such thoughts would be revealing your inner self, a private affair, more so that being with a partner or even being at someone's bedside as they passed on. His master had said that if you were to reveal the thoughts of your previous life those thoughts would instantly vanish. So he believed that people nurtured these thoughts, using them to drive them through the world when times got hard.

On the other hand, Johann had done research into the concept of Déjà vu which was sometimes thought of as accessing the memories of a former life. He had looked into dreams and how one could possibly construct something they had never seen or never been to? There were many oddities in the world that one could not explain… Especially recently…

Johann let out another long sigh. He had explored the world but Johann had never come across another person like Tsomo. Someone who had shown strange attributes… Johann would often wonder whether it had been nothing but a dream. He had been the only one there, after all, he and Tsomo. Perhaps it was all a figment of his imagination during his first few hours of leaving the Monastery after ten years.

"Tsomo…" Johann muttered to himself. He had never forgotten the name in the years since. He had forgotten much but never that name. "…Tsomo…" Johann repeated as if to reassure himself that what had happened in that lonely village in the Himalayas had really happened.

"Tsomo."


	16. Arrival at Grenoble

**Chapter Fourteen**

 **Arrival at Grenoble**

 _15:14 CET_

 _Grenoble, France_

 _18 Hours Remaining_

The Tepee turned off of the motorway and all of a sudden it was like everything came back into focus for Rose. The whole journey so far she had kept herself deep in thought, the drive combining itself into one grey and green unrecognisable mess. Now that she had turned off the motorway and actually had to focus on the GPS system in the car, she also took a newfound look at the surrounding environments.

Grenoble was nestled at the bottom of the Himalayas and seemed surrounded on all sides by the steep hills that gave it an almost mystical presence. The sky was clear, the grass was green, and the trees waved merrily in the slight breeze. Rose had to appreciate just how beautiful entering Grenoble was – and even more so when she entered the city proper. It was wide open and spacious – nothing like where she had grown up – with comfortable space between every building. There were trees and vegetation everywhere, neatly groomed to work hand-in-hand with the equally cared for road; Rose couldn't see any litter or scrap anywhere. The city gave off an air of pleasantness, the same kind one would feel when visiting a particularly beloved grandmother's house.

"This is nice," Rose said appreciatively as she looked at the features on either side of the road and in the horizon. "How about you, Siddharth?"

Siddharth was looking through the window with almost childlike wonder. His laptop was actually away for once, tucked away in his bag, and he simply had his nose against the window. "It's amazing…" Siddharth muttered, almost more to himself than Rose. He glanced to her and grinned. "When I came to the Facility, I came in via helicopter straight from the airport so while I saw it from above… it just doesn't do it justice down here. I'll tell you what Rose, my time in Europe has made it oh so clear that Mumbai just can't hold up. Sure, it has its beauty but it also has its horrors… I grew up around broken buildings, trash, and shadows… this…" Siddharth shook his head and looked back out the window. "Forgive me for sounding like a child but this is amazing. The whole journey, quite frankly, has been amazing." Then he frowned. "Sorry. I know we're not here to sight-see…"

"But I wouldn't take your enjoyment away, Siddharth," Rose was happy to see how happy Siddharth was. "If we're going to be travelling across Europe we may as well enjoy the sights, right? Besides, the University will be coming up soon and you said it looked pretty good on the website. Let's see if real life can hold up to it." Rose circled around a roundabout to head directly south into the Université Grenoble Alpes.

The first thing Rose and Siddharth noticed as they entered was just how big the campus was. Two great fields were on either side of the small road, lined with a wall of trees. One of the fields seemed to have a number of sports courts on astro-turf while the other field had singular trees past the row of trees that cast their shadows on the field. Rose could imagine sitting under it with a book in hand, relaxing in the midday heat. It brought to mind memories back home when she had been in college herself.

The first building they passed seemed to be some kind of dormitory that was perfectly white, lined with windows with red curtains. Vines trailed deliberately up the walls giving it a very classy look. The road continued on and suddenly they were in the campus proper with buildings on every side of them. As the website had shown, it was an impressive sight. It was not showy with tall buildings nor were there any complicated designs – no, the campus was impressive by just the _aura_ it gave off. The buildings flowed together like water, seamlessly linked by pathways and fields. Learning here would have been a pleasure, Rose had no doubt.

"Time to tour the car parks," Siddharth announced and Rose nodded. Time was ticking by and they had a deadline if they were to catch Sam in time.

The two of them had come up with the plan during the last stage of the journey as they entered Grenoble. Siddharth had been doing research online and had gotten into Sam's social sites; having kept them secure unlike many students her age. Siddharth had found that she drove a very specific motorcycle and the two of them decided that the best way to meet Sam would be to find that very motorcycle and wait for her there.

They had gone through different ideas of what to say to her in order to persuade her of the situation and they had decided that the best way would be to keep it as truthful as possible. They were going to act as investigative agents, using their own DSI badges that both of them still held onto. Siddharth claimed he had a number of… persuasions to use in order to get Sam over to their side. Rose had to admit that she had her doubts but keeping it as true as possible seemed right. She didn't want to lie any more than she had to. It was bad enough that there was some kind of secret agent kidnapping a child somewhere near Moscow and that they had faked a death already.

Rose led the way around the large car parks until Siddharth finally pointed over Rose's shoulder. "There, that's it."

There could be no mistaking the 2009 VRSC Hot Rod Harley Davidson as it stood in its own parking space standing like a lion among a pride of mismatched cheap cars. It was a deep dark red with black highlights and looked well cared for and quite expensive. This Sam must have had money somewhere in the family. Though Rose supposed being at a university like this one must have required money in the first place. Rose pulled into a free space a couple of metres away from the Harley.

"Now, Rose, we have to accept that we may not be able to persuade her…" Siddharth said before opening the backseat doors. "And contrary to what Axel says I'm not going to up and kidnap the girl. I'm sure you agree with me?"

Rose nodded, "Definitely."

"If we _can't_ persuade her… it may mean that she will die."

"I understand," Rose smiled grimly. "Which is why we _will_ persuade her." She opened the door and got out of the car for the first time in six hours. Her bones and muscles ached at the unexpected movement. "Time to stretch our legs."

* * *

Sam Gretman was one of the last few students left in the class as she carefully put her belongings back into her backpack. She was in no rush and didn't particularly want to get caught in the traffic of students rushing away from the university. She had nearly been knocked off of her bike enough times for her to be wary of it happening again. Sam hoisted the bag onto her shoulder after packing everything away and slowly strolled out of the classroom, wondering if she should find Elliot even though his classes finished a little earlier. Chances were he had already made a run for it.

"Sam, attends!" A voice called out and Sam turned to see Maxine running up to her. The two of them couldn't have looked as different though Sam reckoned that was what made them fit so well. Maxine was tall, slim, and beautiful with raven-coloured hair and gleaming blue eyes; Sam was shorter, stockier, and some called her rugged with roughly brushed red hair and dark green eyes. Sam didn't hate her own appearance – she had always been a tomboy and enjoyed surprising other boys with her roughshod tactics. The only boy who could get under her skin was Elliot but… well, he was a special case.

"Bonjour, Maxine," Sam greeted as Maxine hurried up. "Tout va bien?"

"Bien bien. Marchons ensemble."

Sam shrugged, giving up her aspirations of potentially meeting Elliot. Walking with Maxine was just as good, though. "Sûr."

"Alors, comment ça va avec Elliot?" Maxine asked, as always interested in Sam's relationship with Elliot.

"Je vais ... bien ... je pense."

"L'avez-vous déjà invité à une date réelle?" Maxine enquired, not for the first time.

Sam sighed. "Non." Then she followed up with, "Je vais me débrouiller pour ça."

Maxine rolled her eyes with a giggle. "Bien sûr que vous le ferez."

The two of them chatted as they made their way out into the fresh afternoon air and into the car park. They walked for a moment before Maxine pulled at Sam's sleeve. "Qui sont-ils?" She gestured to where Sam had parked her Harley and she followed her gaze. There were two very odd looking people standing next to it. One was a man, large and definitely foreign with a face of scraggly hair yet with a smile about him. The other was a small woman who could give Maxine a run for her money in the looks department. She also looked foreign – neither of them looking very French.

"Aucune idée," Sam responded then waved Maxine away. "Continue. Ne me laisse pas te retenir."

Maxine looked doubtful. "Êtes-vous sûr?"

"Oui," Sam nodded. "Aller."

With that doubtful look still on her face, Maxine left Sam alone and wondered off to her own vehicle though she didn't take her gaze away from Sam. Sam walked towards the two strangers confidently, not showing her concern. "Bonjour. C'est mon vélo. M'attends-tu?"

The big one stepped forward and smiled. "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Siddharth. C'est mon partenaire, Rose. Avez-vous un moment pour parler?"

Sam immediately winced. His French was very rough. Luckily enough English was one of the lessons she thoroughly enjoyed. Learning new languages was always interesting. She also knew German and a lot of Latin. "Your French is terrible," Sam said, her words clear but her accent thick.

"You speak English?" The man who introduced himself as Siddharth was evidently surprised.

"Oui. A good thing too." Sam said, peering at them. "What do you want?"

"We will get straight down to it," the beautiful Rose said. "Siddharth and I are… investigators."

"Les enquêteurs? You do not look like police."

"We're not," Siddharth said with that smile of his. Sam felt like she could trust that smile though that in itself was worrying. "We are a group called the DSI – the Department of Supernatural Investigations…"

"…Supernatural…" The word was unfamiliar to Sam and she tested it slowly.

"Uh… like… the unknown, the strange," Siddharth elaborated.

"Oui. Understood. But why talk to me?"

Siddharth glanced to Rose and Rose nodded before she started to speak. "This may sound weird, Sam, but can you promise to at least listen?"

Sam had to admit, she was intrigued with these strangers. They didn't seem suspicious but she supposed she had better make sure. "Identification? Do you have any?" Sam asked.

"Of course," Rose nodded and lifted a small black ID card. The card looked official enough and confirmed her name was indeed Rose. Siddharth showed an equal card and Sam crossed her arms, convinced at least of their identity.

"I am… listening," Sam said, her eyes flashing back between Siddharth and Rose.

So Rose started telling the story as she and Siddharth had gone over in the car. They told Sam of the List and of the visions, though did not mention that Rose was the one who had the vision. They explained that they were finding the survivors on the List and that Sam was the first one they found. They also explained how they wanted to take Sam to a secure location in Berlin where they would be safe until they could find a solution to the problem.

Sam listened to it all quietly and when Rose and Siddharth finished, she remained quiet, taking it all in. While what the two of them had said sounded insane Sam couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable shiver in her spine. Could it have been coincidence? Sam didn't tend to believe in coincidences but…

"I would… like to show you some photos," Siddharth said and he reached into that bag around his shoulder, pulling out a laptop. "They may be… graphic… but I want to show you what could happen if we do not act to help you."

"Fine," Sam said, her mouth a thin line.

Siddharth quickly fiddled with the keyboard before turning the screen. "What I am about to show you are… photos taken only by our organisation. The public have not seen these photos." He pressed a button and the first photo showed up.

Sam winced. The photo showed a woman with what looked like a slender white pole sticking directly out of her forehead. It would almost have been funny had it not been so gruesome, the woman's expression of horror frozen in her face. "Alice Chantrey," Siddharth said grimly. "She thought she was saving a child… instead she was caught in Death's trap."

The next image came up. This one was of a man, his body twisted among the wreckage of what looked like a bus. "Jake Milligan. He was a visionary. Yet he couldn't stop his fate." Another image, this one of a burnt woman, her figure curled into the foetal position. "Abigail Hawk. A loving wife whose death drove her husband to madness."

Siddharth switched to a fourth image. This one was of a girl with blonde hair, a strange smile on her face despite the fact she was laid on a mortician's slab. There was a knife shaped hole in her stomach. "Sabrina Holland," Siddharth continued. "Sacrificed her own life to save another."

"Assez!" Sam turned away from the laptop. "Enough!"

"I am sorry…" Siddharth said. "But I needed you to see—"

"I know what those are. I know you speak truth. And I know _you_ know what you are doing to me! Stop playing and say it à présent!"

Siddharth inclined his head. "Your mother…" he said quietly. "She was on a List herself, Sam. With what we've shown you, you know this to be true. You know how she ended up… you want that for yourself?"

Sam grit her teeth, remembering all too clearly the image of her mother after the car had come from out of nowhere. She had questioned how life could have been so unfair, how a person like her mother could die like that, bleeding out in the middle of the street…

"I understand." Sam said and walked over to her Harley. "I will come. I… I know what awaits me if I do not fight it and… and… I believe in what you say… in what you show… Bon sang!" She shook her head. "Meet me at La Bobine bar… two hours…" Without even putting her helmet off, Sam made the motorcycle roar to life and left Siddharth and Rose behind.

The two of them looked each other.

"We got her," Siddharth said though he wasn't smiling.

"I didn't like using her own mother against her," Rose said. "We have no proof that her mother was on a List. Chances are it _was_ just an accident."

"…I didn't like it either…" Siddharth sighed. "It was necessary, though."

"I know," Rose said, disgusted with herself. "If we have to wait two hours anyway then let's go to this bar and eat. See if I can get this taste out of my mouth."


	17. Interlude - Accusation

**Interlude**

 **Accusation**

"Ah… Many souls have been lost here," Death's words seemed to float ominously as he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes as if he were savouring something delicious. He was standing on the corner of a three-way intersection on a red-brick pavement. Zeina Morcos stood at his side reluctantly, her hands clasped behind her back. They had taken a private jet to Gatwick airport in London before driving south down to the seaside town of Eastbourne.

It was clear as they drove through the town that something devastating had happened in the last couple of years. The main roads were newly tarmacked but side roads were split and broken, buildings were half-burnt or nearly collapsed and fenced off sections where rubble had been dumped stood stark on every block. However there were also scaffolding put up and signs of construction all around the town. Zeina knew that it was some kind of explosion that originated at the General Hospital but hadn't felt a need to look it up as it was far from her jurisdiction in Egypt. Ever since Death had marched into her life, Zeina had made sure not to look up anything unless she was ordered to in order to give Death as little information as possible. She may have been forced to work for him but she would still try her best to only give him what he wanted and not anything else unnecessary.

"Shall we take a walk, Zeina?" Death asked, taking no notice of the strange looks he and Zeina were getting. While Zeina had changed her garb into a smart casual suit that blended in with British style, Death was still wearing his robes, head wrap, and jewellery.

Zeina glanced at him as Death strode down the pavement, his robes billowing behind him. Zeina hoped that he had no inclination to look up information on Paige Calloway himself as he had asked Zeina to do it for him. While she had correctly reported that Eastbourne was where Paige was last seen, Zeina had not mentioned the fact that she used to be a student at Sussex Downs. While they would likely have had information on where Paige lived there was no way she could put so many young lives at risk.

Though it seemed Death was content to simply walk the streets of Eastbourne, pausing momentarily to take in deep breaths before adjusting his route and continuing on. After nearly half an hour of walking he finally came to a stop in front of a fish-themed restaurant suitably titled 'The Purple Pike' and turned to look at Zeina. "I can sense my blood in here… yes… Paige Calloway is in here certainly." He faced the doors with an expectant expression on his face. "As long as I am close, Zeina, I can feel my connection with my children. Blood is our bond, after all." Death smiled and approached the glass double doors of the Purple Pike.

* * *

"How're you doing today, Jack?" Ruby Ascot smiled broadly down at the elderly gentleman as she placed down a plate of fresh haddock. She was wearing her purple uniform and her name-tag pinned to the breast pocket read: RUBY – MANAGER.

"Same old, same old," Jack smiled back at Ruby.

"Wife still giving you trouble?" Ruby asked.

"Not as bad. We're getting there."

"Good to hear," Ruby patted him on the shoulder. "Just gotta hang in there and things'll get back to normal." She turned away and spotted another familiar face on her way to the counter. "Phil, good to see the cast off!"

"Thanks, Ruby," Phil nodded and wriggled his fingers. "It's feeling a whole lot better now."

"And what did we learn?"

"…Not to climb out windows in the middle of the night…" Phil replied quietly.

"Not to climb out of windows, period," Ruby scolded before turning on her heel and heading to the counter. Jack had been the last order so general preparations were happening behind the counter – cleaning the plates, stocking up on the pre-cooked foods, and other such odd-jobs.

"How can you be so good with the customers, Ruby?" A timid voice asked from behind the counter. Ruby looked at the young Isabella and chuckled. "It just comes with experience and confidence. But the key is, Izzy, you got to understand that we're not robots. We're people. Do you go out with friends after school?"

Isabella nodded hesitantly. She was nineteen and was studying at Sussex Downs but had recently gotten a part-time job at the Purple Pike. Ruby had instantly taken a shine to her and she had certainly proven her worth. "And you don't feel awkward talking to your friends?"

"No…" Isabella replied.

"So there's your answer," Ruby continued. "Treat the customers like people, like friends, and they'll do the same. Sure, you'll get the odd grumpy fella but most of the time it'll work like a charm."

"Thanks, Ruby," Isabella smiled as the bell on the top of the door rung, signifying a new customer.

"Order coming in," Ruby raised her voice over Isabella's shoulder to the two other chefs in today. It wasn't a busy day so they didn't need much in the way of staff. Ruby turned to greet the customer and stopped momentarily, staring at the new arrivals.

The woman seemed normal enough even if she was definitely foreign going by her skin and features. However obvious she was not from around here though, the man trumped it big time by looking like he had walked straight out of a biblical story.

Ruby's hesitation lasted only a second before she smiled at them. "Welcome to the Purple Pike. Table for two?"

"Greetings," the man nodded his head. "I simply have a request…" His eyes trailed to her name badge. "…Ruby."

"Uh, sure…" Ruby felt a bad feeling starting to bubble up in her stomach but nevertheless she didn't let her smile drop. "I'm quite familiar with Eastbourne so if you need help finding anything I can probably get you there."

"I'm looking for someone, not somewhere." The man said in that strange voice of his. It was almost hypnotic as it seemed to permeate through the air even though it was quiet.

"Well, I get quite a few people around here but I know some locals. If I can help, I will," Ruby continued, taking a moment to look at the woman. She was being quiet and didn't seem to want to meet Ruby's gaze. Strange… Ruby's eyes flickered back to the man as he responded with a name.

"Paige Calloway."

Ruby froze. She hadn't heard Paige's name in over three years ever since she was killed at the lighthouse though she certainly hadn't forgotten her. Her death was the one that still woke her up at night, sweating and fearful.

"You know of her, I see. Wonderful."

"Sorry, haven't heard the name in a long time. I knew someone like that but I believe she left Eastbourne three years ago," Ruby lied, not trusting this man one bit. Why would a man like him, dressed in robes and jewellery, want someone like Paige who had lived in Eastbourne all her life and certainly wouldn't have interacted with this man.

"I know she is in here…" The man sighed. "Well, so be it. I gave you your chance to leave." The man raised his hand and Ruby felt something strange run through her. She stepped backwards in surprise just as a sudden clatter of noise filled the room. Ruby turned her head in shock to see the elderly Jack tip off his seat, fork still in his hand. Phil was slumped in his seat, eyes wide in surprise, not moving. The other customers were also similarly slumped over.

"Wh-What!?" Ruby blinked, unable to comprehend what just happened. She missed the look the man gave her as she rushed over to Jack. "Jack?! Can you hear me?!" There was no pulse in the old man's neck.

"…Well now, this is interesting…"

At the man's voice Ruby looked up and saw him slowly walking towards her. The expression on the woman's face made it clear that the man had somehow caused this.

"What have you done?"

"I have allowed them to pass on," the man said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"You mean you… you killed them?!" Ruby's breathing quickened as the man approached. He had only raised a hand and everyone had keeled over… What did that mean? "Who are you?!"

"I am more interested in who _you_ are," The man didn't stop walking slowly as Ruby tried to control her breathing, clutching the table behind her. "You are not Paige Calloway. You are not my daughter. So who are you?"

"Get away from me…" Ruby breathed, her mind travelling at a hundred miles an hour. Daughter? What was he talking about? "I will call the police and—"

"Perhaps I am simply still adjusting…" The man slowly raised his hand and extended a finger. He reached out and very, very gently laid his finger on Ruby's cheek. A sudden shiver ran through Ruby's body as she froze, staring into the eyes of this strange man. Eyes that widened in apparent surprise. The finger was abysmally cold as if the man were made of ice. "I can touch you." The man slid his finger down Ruby's cheek to the corner of her lips. "I can… _feel_ you…" The finger curled around her chin and moved back up the other side of her face. Ruby could only stay frozen in place, trying to comprehend what was happening. "…It has been so long since I have… _touched_ …" The man sounded positively thrilled. " _Who are you?_ " He repeated.

All of a sudden the effect of his touch disappeared and Ruby found her control coming back. Ever since the explosion at the General Hospital, Ruby had gotten into combat sports in an effort to relieve the stress that had welled up ever since Tanzi left. She wasn't a professional by any means but she had learned enough to protect herself after so long of others protecting her. The moment she felt her brain click into that defensive mode, Ruby reached up and grabbed the man's wrist and in one clean movement pushed it to the side and hooked her arm around the man's throat, pushing him harshly to the floor.

As soon as the man's back hit the floor Ruby made for the woman who was standing in apparent surprise. Ruby sent an elbow toward the woman's chest but the woman reacted quickly, slapping away Ruby's strike in an equally trained movement. Ruby narrowed her eyes and flicked her foot out, catching the woman in her blind-spot and kicking the inside of her knee. The woman fell to one knee with a grunt and Ruby hooked her arm around the woman's neck and echoed the movement she had done with the man, slamming the woman to the floor.

With both threats down Ruby immediately scrambled to the counter and leaped behind it, starting to speak, "Izzy, you need to—" The words trailed off as Ruby spotted Isabella sprawled on the floor. "No… No, no…" Ruby crouched over Isabella's prone body. Just like Jack, just like the others… she wasn't breathing. "What is happening…" Ruby muttered, clutching Isabella. "Why… Why?!" A student. Isabella was nothing but a student, practically a child. Now she was dead and for all the world Ruby couldn't understand way.

"Now, now, do not be upset." Ruby's head snapped up to see the man standing over her. "Be glad you are still breathing, my dear."

"Who—" Ruby demanded again as she stood up but felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She opened her mouth in surprise and looked down to see that the man had taken a knife from the counter and plunged it deep into her stomach. The man pulled the knife out in one swift movement and Ruby fell back, clutching at her stomach, the pain lancing up her body.

"Hmm…" The man lifted the knife to his eye and inspected it as if it were some kind of precious jewel. Then he lowered it to his mouth and flicked out his tongue, licking Ruby's blood on the end of the knife. He shivered in ecstasy and looked down at Ruby. "You have my blood. Why would a mortal have my blood?"

Despite the pain, Ruby could feel the wound in her stomach knitting together. It was a sensation that she couldn't get used to, however, as the skin stitched itself back together. The Nectar within her had never stopped working, Ruby had discovered not long after Tanzi had left. Every time she had cut herself in the restaurant or taken a fall and scraped herself, her body would heal itself just like it had back in the crash with Nathan Furrow.

"Look at your body…" The man watched Ruby in amazement. "Such healing… is simply amazing for a mortal." Ruby slowly stood, her shirt stained with blood but the wound all but gone. Then the man was suddenly upon her. He reached forward, slammed her hand against the wall, and thrust the knife into the palm of her hand and through the plaster of the wall as if it were a nail. Ruby let out a harsh scream of pain as the man made another swift movement, picked up a second knife from the counter, and thrust it into Ruby's other hand, effectively pinning her against the wall.

"Ah… but as much a miracle, as much a curse…" the man said, his horrifying eyes shining. He picked up a third knife and gently walked towards Ruby again. "For your wounds shall be healed yet your pain shall be felt."

Ruby whimpered. The pain was pulsing down her arms and the blood dripped down from the knife and down the wall.

"So where is Paige Calloway? Tell me now to alleviate your suffering, my dear."

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut. "She's dead. I don't know… I don't know why you want her but she's dead!"

The man laughed unexpectedly. "I severely doubt that," and without another moment's hesitation he plunged the knife back into Ruby's stomach. Ruby groaned but this time the man didn't remove the knife. "Where is she?!"

"I-I-I saw her fall off the cliff, I saw her die, I-I don't know what you want me to say, she's dead!" Ruby cried out, the pain in her abdomen intense. Then the pain grew even worse as the man slowly drew the knife horizontally across her stomach, cutting deep into her. She screamed without holding back, echoing through the restaurant. "Stop! S-Stop it! Stop!"

But he didn't stop. He drew the knife completely through her stomach until it tore out of her side. There were tears in her eyes as Ruby's body quivered. The man flicked the knife and swiped it so fast through the air that Ruby didn't know what had just happened. Then her vision started to grow hazy and she realised he had just sliced into her face. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter to stop the blood from getting in and felt it flow down her cheeks.

"Where did she fall?" The man asked, his tone of voice never changing.

Ruby didn't respond. If she told him where the lighthouse was then Ash and Willow would be in his way. She didn't care for the Oracle but those two were children… While Ruby had never gone back to the lighthouse she knew that they must still be there, caring for him. She opened her eyes defiantly and stared at the man. She could feel the deep wounds in her stomach slowly healing though her hands remained bleeding and raw. She imagined that wounds couldn't heal if something was blocking it, like the knives were.

"Your spirit is… impressive," the man continued. Ruby peered past him to look at the woman but the woman was pointedly looking away. The man grabbed Ruby's jaw with his free hand and forced her to look at him. "Where did she fall?" He repeated and lifted the knife, hovering the crimson-drenched point over Ruby's left eye. "Despite my blood in your veins, too much pain, too much shock, and your body may heal but your mind will not. If I plunge this knife through your brain then the chances of you retaining who you are… are slim. So tell me where she fell."

Ruby stared at the point of the knife defiantly. She would take her chances with the knife instead of selling out Willow and Ash.

"I see threats to your body are simply not enough." The man continued, shaking his head. The knife didn't move, however. "If you do not tell me what I need to know then I shall claim the souls of all of Eastbourne. All the children, all the women, all the men… everyone. And that, Ruby, that would be on your shoulders. So whoever it is that you seek to protect… are their lives worth the lives of thousands?" He leaned forward. "All it would take is a flick of my wrist and all those lives… gone."

The man wasn't lying, Ruby knew. She had seen first-hand what he had done to the patrons of the restaurant, to Izzy… and Ruby knew in the back of her mind who he was.

"D-Death…" Ruby muttered. "You're… You're Death…"

"I am," Death replied and seemed almost impressed. "You have my blood and you can guess at my identity. I admire that."

Ruby was in too much pain to worry about how strange it was that Death was standing in front of her. Instead, a sudden memory came unbidden to her mind.

* * *

" _Ssh… I had a choice, Ruby. Me or you. Survival or death. Last time I chose me, I chose survival. This time… You're too good a person to go. I love you, Ruby Ascot."_

* * *

"Why?" Ruby croaked. Once again, Death seemed surprised at her words.

"Why…?" He repeated, confused.

"Why create the List? Why torture us? Why make us suffer? Why play games?" Tears stung at the corners of Ruby's eyes. "Good people have died… have been corrupted… because of who you are, because of what you did, because of your List…"

"My… List?"

His feigned ignorance sent a surprising anger through Ruby's body. "YOUR LIST!" She roared in Death's face, the knife all but forgotten in front of her eye. "At Epsilon! Here, in Eastbourne! Cornwall… everywhere, all over the world, the List that kills innocent lives!" Names came to her lips, names that Ruby would never forget. "Lily! Bridge! Eddy! Meagan Thompson!"

* * *

" _Just another murder… Just another one to add to your list… I'm going to make sure you don't kill anybody else!"_

* * *

Ruby continued the names, fury like nothing she had ever felt in her life filling her body. "Trenton! Corey! Sabrina Holland!" Her rage bubbled and boiled and in her fury Ruby tore her left hand from the wall, the knife tearing through her hand. "Jeffrey! Daniel! Jay! Paige Calloway!"

* * *

" _If the Oracle can really see the future than that is a conversation you are not going to want to miss. I'll be fine. You're the one who needs to be worried, after all."_

* * *

"Lacey! Lucas!" Ruby pulled her right hand from the wall, wrenching it away from the knife. "Dead! All of them! Because of YOUR List! The people who died… the people who survived! Jason! Zach! Naomi! Jade! Tanzi Sakamoto!

* * *

" _You've done so much for so many people. Ruby, it goes without saying but… you're a hero. A hero to the people you've saved. A hero to me."_

* * *

Ruby stood in front of Death, her bleeding hands clenched tightly into fists. "Because of you, all of their lives were broken and ruined and became a shadow of what they should have been! The lives you claimed… The lives that survived… all of us… as one… because of WHAT YOU DID!" Ruby bellowed and then she fell to the floor, tears running down her blood-stained cheeks. "And now… now you threaten to kill the whole of Eastbourne… a town that survived chaos… thousands of people… because you want to find a dead girl?" Ruby shook her head. "The Belle Tout Lighthouse. She fell there."

The knife clattered to the ground and Death crouched in front of Ruby. "I know not… of why you have my blood. I am Death. I claim the souls of those who pass on from this world and guide them onto the next. I do not need to play games nor do I need a… List… to claim my souls. Do not blame me for the deaths of these people you speak of." Death stood and turned away. "The blood in your veins makes you a very unique mortal. I cannot kill you so I will not… you may see me as an enemy… you may falsely blame me for these things you say… so as a show of good faith…"

Death waved his hand and that strange feeling ran again through Ruby's body. "I hope you find the culprit you seek, Ruby. I hope my blood helps you." And with that, he swept out of the building with the woman in tow.

The moment the door shut Ruby scrambled to her phone and called a contact that she hadn't needed to call for eight years. The ringtone didn't last and a voice answered Ruby.

"Valentine."

"Lisa!?" Ruby heard the familiar voice and felt relieved. "It is Ruby Ascot… I don't know if you—"

"I remember. I gave you this number for one emergency. What is it?"

"I just… I…" Ruby realised how crazy it would sound, but nevertheless, she had to say it. "Death just left my restaurant. Literally… Death… he… he killed with a touch, with a glance… he… he…"

Ruby froze. She had just seen movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned with the phone against her ear to see Isabella slowly getting to her feet, looking woozy.

"We'll be there shortly," was the response on the other end of the phone but Ruby didn't even hear it. It clicked off but Ruby could only stare at Isabella as she stood and turned towards Ruby. Ruby suddenly had a thought. Was it possible?! Ruby stood, looked over the counter, and saw that the customers were still slack on their table. Ruby felt the hope disappear but nevertheless turned back to Isabella, the only one standing.

"Ruby…" Isabella's eyes washed over Ruby's appearance, shocked. "What—"

Ruby didn't hear the rest of the sentence as she felt her legs leave her and collapse against the cold hard ground, physically and mentally worn out, coated in blood yet with no wounds to speak of.


	18. The Next Step

**Chapter Fifteen**

 **The Next Step**

 _17:16_

 _Grenoble, France_

 _16 Hours Remaining_

Siddharth and Rose both sat in the corner of the La Bobine bar at a booth, both waiting quietly. Rose's fingers were tapping on the edge of the table while Siddharth patiently looked at the door. The bar was small, comfortable, yet trendy with metal walls and a pale blue colour scheme. It seemed to be generally frequented by college students so Rose and definitely Siddharth both stood out, drawing strange glances. They heard murmurings but the words were too fast for either Siddharth or Rose to translate.

"She's not coming, is she?" Rose said, glancing at her watch. She shook her head. "I knew it. It was too much. Too shocking. We scared her off."

"It's only gone two hours," Siddharth said. "Don't write her off quite yet. I expect she has a lot of things to figure out. She'll be here."

"She won't. I mean, come on, Siddharth, what did we really expect?" Rose put her head on the table, running her hands through her hair. "This was a fool's errand. Trying to find survivors spread out all across Europe? Ridiculous…"

"Stop it!" Siddharth's tone was sharp, surprising Rose. When she looked up she saw Siddharth gently smile. "Giving up isn't a good look for you, Rose."

Seeing Siddharth's smile Rose let out a long breath and straightened up in her seat. "You're right… Of course you are. It's just…" Rose chewed her bottom lip for a long moment, staring at the space to the left of Siddharth's ear. Finally she spoke, "William has been up there for nearly ten hours… _ten hours_ , Siddharth… all alone and getting further and further away just to… to…"

"Don't think about it, Rose. He wouldn't want that. Your dad wouldn't want you to."

"How can I not?" Rose asked, frustrated. "This time tomorrow he'll be… gone… and then it's going to happen and I'm honestly not sure we can save them… I _know_ we won't save all of them…"

"Focus on one at a time, Rose, else you'll drive yourself crazy. For now, let's concentrate on the one who just walked through the door." Siddharth nodded past Rose and she twisted in her seat and upon seeing Sam Gretman walk through the door dressed in leathers she had to break out in a smile and stand up. "Over here," she called out. Sam looked at them and walked over with a strange expression on her face.

"Right," Sam said, falling into the seat next to Siddharth. She put her elbows on the table and leaned forward to the bemused duo. "I want to know about my mother's death. I want to know details."

Rose sat back down, at a loss for words. She hadn't planned for this. She didn't know anything about Sam's mother's death other than the fact that she had been hit by a car. Sam clearly wanted to know more than that… but once more, Siddharth exceeded expectations.

"Vanessa Gretman, twenty-nine at the time," Siddharth said immediately, turning so he was looking directly at Sam. Sam listened intently though Rose noticed that she was gripping the edge of the table with a gloved hand tightly. "Married to Eelis Gretman with a six-year-old daughter," he motioned towards Sam. "December the seventh, 2006, amidst a blizzard of snow. Your mother had been working at the Saint-Louis Hospital all morning and was walking back home where you and your father were waiting. Vanessa had spotted an elderly gentleman by the name of Paul Mallet slip over on the other side of the road. In her haste she made her way across the road where she was hit by an out-of-control Kia Rio, driven by Fiona Boulanger. The injuries were serious and eventually fatal but Vanessa managed to utter words to Paul Mallet to pass on to her daughter… words that nobody knows. The only two who know the words completely refused to tell what they were. She passed away in the snow with Paul by her side."

As Siddharth grew silent, Sam looked intently at him. Her eyes were filled with sadness and something else that Rose couldn't quite nail down. Perhaps she was reliving the horrible memories of that time.

"At the time, the journals made up all sorts of stories about what my mother told Paul to tell me," Sam shook her head, disgusted. "But the police never truly knew. The driver's name was never released to the presse either… This confirms you are who you say you are. You know things only the police know about that day."

Rose watched Sam, trying to hide the expression on her own face. If she knew how great with computers Siddharth was then Sam would have been a lot less likely to believe in them.

"This trip to Berlin," Sam leaned back in her seat. "How long can I expect this all to take?"

Both Siddharth and Rose looked to each other. Rose leaned forward and said, "I'm not sure, Sam."

"I figured as much," Sam said. "Well, I am prepared for a week. I am not worried about college and I have explained to my roommate that I will be away for that week. I also looked up the DSI but found a whole lot of nothing."

Siddharth couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Be careful on looking on the DSI else they'll send someone out to speak to you."

Sam raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really." Siddharth nodded. "Generally we like to keep a low profile… a very low profile… so whenever someone looks up details on us it means that they heard about us somewhere… which means that someone has said something they shouldn't."

"So if you're able to keep this as quiet as possible… we'd appreciate it," Rose continued.

"Bien sûr. I understand." Sam smiled. "I will follow you on my bike."

"Are you sure?" Rose was surprised. "It's a long drive and we may have to take some detours on the way…"

"Detours?" Sam echoed.

"Um… like alternate routes…"

"I know what detours are," Sam said impatiently. "Why are we taking detours? Would you have not sent other partners to the other people on this liste of yours?" Sam's eyes narrowed when she caught the glance between Siddharth and Rose. "It is not just the two of you, is it? You said there were thirteen on this List including the two of us, spread across L'Europe. What, are you expecting all of us to gather up in that car of yours like a bunch of pitre. Qu'est-ce que tu ne me dis pas? What aren't you telling me?"

This time Rose was quick to spin the tale, feeling uncomfortable that it was coming so natural to her. "The DSI are... working on a lot of things at once. Our manpower isn't what it used to be. But it is not just us two. There are three more who are travelling north. I certainly would have liked to send separate teams to different people on the List but it just can't work like that. Being so secretive we don't exactly have many members. On our way to Berlin, we plan to stop at Cologne and Dortmund, which are both in West Germany. It won't be too much of a detour."

"And who are the people we are talking to there?" Sam demanded.

Siddharth looked to Rose and said, "…She's in now. We can tell her."

For a moment Rose was confused and then she realised that Siddharth had just made it seem like Rose was _accepted_ into the team. It would make it more likely that she would trust them. Sam seemed to be quite adept at picking up the little things and wouldn't fail to miss the intention behind Siddharth's words which was just what Siddharth would have wanted.

"In Cologne, we are going to another college to talk to a girl named Jenna Weissler. Then we are heading to Dortmund in an attempt to catch Bethany Cross of the Miracle Skyhawks."

"The Miracle Skyhawks?! You mean the musicians?"

"The very same."

"They're on this Liste?!" Sam seemed like she couldn't believe it.

"Only Bethany… and Death does not discriminate," Rose said quietly. "It doesn't matter who you are or what your status in life is…"

"Of course," Sam looked apologetic. "Pardon." Sam leaned back in her chair looking as if she couldn't believe everything going on before finally standing up. "I shall wait outside for you. It is best to leave as it will be late anyway when we reach Cologne." She nodded to Siddharth and Rose. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I appreciate what you are trying to do in saving our lives." And with that Sam turned and walked out of the bar.

She walked to where she had parked her Harley and lifted the helmet from the back-compartment, sliding it over her face. Sam sat on the bike but leaned forward, staring at the metallic wall in front of her, her mind involuntarily going back to when she was six…

* * *

" _Je vais l'avoir chéri, tu restes ici," Eelis Gretman stood up from where he had been sitting on the floor. Sam looked up at him, confused. "Quand une porte sonne, vous devez répondre. Ça pourrait être une bonne nouvelle!" With a smile he made his way over to the door where the bell had just rung. Sam watched for a moment before turning her attention back to the puzzle she was attempting to put together. However without her father's help it seemed like a bunch of useless shapes._

 _There were footsteps – more than usual – and Sam looked back up to see her father entering the room with two strange men. They were both dressed in a dark blue shirt and looked strangely solemn holding hats to their chests. Sam cocked her head at Eelis._

 _"Papa?"_

 _"Chérie ... Monte en haut. S'il vous plait." Her father said quietly, motioning to the stairs. Sam stood up but walked towards Eelis, barely looking at the two strangers._

 _"Papa? Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?"_

 _"Ses…" Eelis made a strange croaking noise and gestured to the stairs again. "S'il vous plaît. Je dois parler à ces hommes." He forced a horrible smile that clearly didn't match the sombre mood. She may have been a child but Sam knew when something was wrong. "Tout va bien. Aller au lit."_

 _Reluctantly Sam made her way up the stairs but stopped on the top step. She sat down and peered through the bannisters to see her father sitting down, staring at the two men. They said something quietly that Sam couldn't catch but the change in her father was easy to see. His eyes widened and he said loudly, "Mort? Vanessa? Non non non… Ça ne peut pas être."_

 _One of the two strangers said something else and Sam was surprised to see tears run down her father's cheeks._

 _Eelis Gretman never cried, Sam knew, never ever. He was a tough man who worked on engines of pretty looking cars and would often have to act all serious with customers. Sam had seen him shout at strangers but then back into the papa she knew and loved. He never cried after any of those arguments nor did he cry if he injured himself. Eelis had nearly cut off his finger when helping her mother cook but he had only laughed, looked at Sam, and said that it was only a scratch. Even at Pépé's funeral Eelis hadn't cried only stood over the coffin and placed a rose atop the black casket. So what was making him cry now? What was making such a tough and respectable man cry like a small child?_

* * *

"Ready to go?" The voice sounded faint but it was enough to draw Sam away from her memories. She glanced to her right to see Siddharth and Rose. She put up a leather-clad thumb. "I shall be right behind you," she assured, her voice muffled under the helmet.

She watched them climb into their own vehicle and turned on the Harley. Taking a deep breath and concentrating on the journey ahead, Sam started after the Tepee to follow Siddharth and Rose, wondering just what life would throw at her next.


	19. Memories

**Chapter Sixteen**

 **Memories**

 _17:15 GMT_

 _Eastbourne, England_

 _15 Hours Remaining_

"They've got Sam Gretman with them now," Jamie said as she responded to Siddharth on the other side of the laptop. "They're heading towards Cologne now to pick up Jenna." Siddharth had also mentioned that he and Rose hadn't needed to use any of Axel's… persuasions, which was a good thing. Though Jamie couldn't help but be concerned about their use of the DSI's name. Siddharth had assured her that it was the easiest way to get on Sam's good side and that he was constantly redirecting attention elsewhere but still… throwing the DSI's name around was never a good idea. "Tanzi?"

Jamie looked up from the laptop after getting no response for Tanzi. She was staring outside the window clearly having not heard a word of what Jamie had just said.

"We've arrived," Axel said quietly from the front seat.

"Ah," Jamie understood instantly. She hadn't realised they had entered the city limits but now that she looked the old Victorian-styled buildings came by on either side of them. This was the first time Tanzi had been back to Eastbourne since the terrorist attack that had torn through the town, ripping apart the streets and burning houses indiscriminately. Though looking at the town as they passed it looked like recovery was making very good progress.

They had already agreed to head to the Purple Pike, where Tanzi said Ruby Ascot worked. Ruby had been in the vision with the boy who was on the List so she'd be the best bet in finding him. Besides, Jamie knew that Tanzi would want to see Ruby again after all this time. Though looking at her expression Jamie was surprised to see nervousness. She would have thought Tanzi would have been excited at meeting her old friend.

"Nicht gud," Axel muttered as they turned a corner and Jamie instantly saw what had incited this reaction. The Purple Pike was very obvious with the large purple sign and decorated windows but the building was surrounded by police cars and a crime scene investigation van. Police were milling about and the whole street had been cordoned off. "Jamie, what should we do?"

Jamie looked back at Tanzi and saw that her face had gone completely pale. She was staring at the police with a look of horror on her face, completely wordless. "Stop the car, Axel. We need to find out to happened here."

"If the Polizei know of us…"

"They won't. The DSI wouldn't want normal police to know of their presence. We're not _that_ wanted," Jamie explained. "Stop the car."

"Aye," and with that Axel pulled to the side of the curb and turned off the engine.

"Tanzi…" Jamie saw that Tanzi was now quivering. She seemed frozen. Jamie had never seen such a reaction in all the time she had known her. "…Come. We'll find out what has happened. Don't think of the worst, okay?" Tanzi didn't respond, never taking her eyes off the Purple Pike. "Tanzi, I need you to come with me." Not for the first time, Jamie wished she was able to take off the tracker that connected the both of them. But her boss had kept the key in case Tanzi tried to attack Jamie and any force otherwise would send an electric shock through the forced band.

Jamie reached forward and put a hand on Tanzi's shoulder and this contact seemed enough for Tanzi to turn and look at her. She nodded. "Y-Yes, I understand… Of course."

As Jamie got out of the car she wanted to assure Tanzi that Ruby was fine but unfortunately there was no way to guarantee that until she found out what happened.

"I'll stay in the car," Axel said as Jamie passed the driver's seat. "In case we need a fast get-away."

"Of course. It won't come to that though," Jamie said and opened Tanzi's door, helping her out. "Come on, Tanzi. Getting answers will make you feel better."

Tanzi bit her lip and closed her eyes. She took in a long breath, gathering her courage, and then nodded. "I know." She got out of the car and looked at the activity outside of the Purple Pike. There were mortician vehicles parked in a row just down the street – too many of them.

The two of them walked slowly over to a policeman standing by the tape. As they approached, the policeman shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry; this area is out of limits."

"What happened here?" Jamie asked, catching sight of white sheets through the windows of the restaurant. There were a lot of bodies in there.

"I'm afraid I can't disclose any information. You'll have to move on."

"Is Ruby Ascot alive!?" Tanzi demanded, her shock slipping away as she looked at the policeman. "Red hair, she's the manager, is she okay? Please… I-I'm a friend, I need to know…"

"I can't disclose any information," the policeman repeated though Jamie noticed him glance through the moving people to a man standing by the doorway. The man turned and caught the policeman's gaze and Jamie froze. She recognised a DSI operative like that anywhere. But it was too late to leave now as the man walked forward.

The man was wearing the typical black attire of a combat operative though his mask was pulled down, revealing short hair with a blonde streak running straight through the middle. The hair on either side of the streak had been shaved in patterns that looked like swirling flames. As the man came to a stop and looked at Jamie she knew that he recognised exactly who she was. This wasn't good.

"It is okay. They are part of my team," the man said and Jamie blinked, surprised. "Leave us."

The policeman looked between Jamie and the man before shrugging and walking away. The man turned to Jamie and put his hands on his hips with a small smile playing on his face. "Jamie Root. Tanzi Sakamoto. We've been expecting you."

Jamie saw Tanzi tense beside her and felt her own fists clench. This man knew who they were and that meant he was one of the ones tracking them. It seemed that Siddharth hadn't been successful in deflecting the DSI's attention. Then the man gave a small wave down the street to where the Citroën waited. "And Axel is with you too, good, good."

He knew everything, Jamie realised. Knew what car they came in and even knew who was driving. This wasn't good.

Then the man leaned forward and whispered into Jamie's ear. "I'm a friend. Do not panic," then he withdrew and turned to Tanzi. "Ruby Ascot is alive."

At these words all the tension left Tanzi and she let out an immensely relieved sigh. "…She's alive?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "Everything will be explained later but it is not safe to talk here. Head to the Collado Shelter on the top of the hill."

"…Collado?" Tanzi repeated the word, surprised. "On top of the hill… Do you mean the Collado mansion?"

"That's the one. It's been a shelter for the homeless and the affected since the terrorist attack though." The man winked at Tanzi. "You know how to get there," then he looked back to Jamie and said in a loud voice, "I won't ask you to leave a second time, ma'am."

At this dismissal, Jamie and Tanzi turned and started walking back to Axel. _Just what was going on?_ Jamie wondered if the man was leading them into a trap but he had sounded genuine. It certainly didn't seem like he wanted to capture them. Yet looking at Tanzi, Jamie knew they had no choice. They had to head to this shelter in order to see Ruby and ensure she was okay. If it was a trap… well, they'd have to improvise.

* * *

Tanzi stood outside the Citroën, standing between Axel and Jamie. It was so strange to be staring at those front steps again, to see the mansion rising into the air. Yet while so familiar it was so different. There was some kind of wall outside filled to the brim with pictures, flowers, and candles. The words: **In Memoriam** were written on top of the wall. To the left of the door stood a park complete with swings and climbing sets. There were three children laughing and giggling as they played.

Tanzi took the lead and walked up the stairs; the beautiful pond that stood next to them that led up to the door was untouched, the plants vividly green and the fish swimming pleasantly through the water. Tanzi recognised a few more species than before. Another thing that had stayed the same was the massive hedge maze peeking over the memorial wall. She made for the front doors and stopped, looking at them. Once they had been grand and expensive but now the doors had been painted with what seemed like hundreds of hand prints.

Tentatively, Tanzi pressed the brass doorbell and waited. After a moment the doors opened and a beautiful woman stood there looking almost like she had walked straight out of a fairy-tale. Her glossy black hair flowed down her shoulders, complimenting the perfect olive skin that was smooth as silk. She wore a dark purple dress lined with black lace that made her look all that more stunning. Her deep blue eyes regarded the three of them with an air of interest. Then they rested on Tanzi and widened.

"N-Naomi?" Tanzi uttered, amazed. Naomi Collado had been beautiful four years ago but she had still been a young adult still in college then. She had grown into a woman with grace that clearly suited Naomi.

"Tanzi!" Naomi stepped forward and pulled Tanzi into a deep hug full of friendliness that Tanzi hadn't felt for so long. "It is so good to see you!" They stayed hugging for a long moment. The connection they shared was one that went further than friendship. Tanzi had… _been_ … Naomi for a time and had shared all of Naomi's memories, fears, and hopes. Naomi pulled away and turned to Axel and Jamie. "Greetings. I am Naomi Collado. May I ask your names?"

"Jamie Root," Jamie offered a hand and was pleased to feel a firm grip behind Naomi's handshake. It seemed she wasn't just a typical rich lady.

"Axel Daunhauer," Axel gently took Naomi's hand and kissed it. "A pleasure to meet you."

Naomi seemed amused as she drew her hand back. "How rare to find a gentleman who looks so rough and tough."

"And how rare for a lady to speak honestly," Axel smiled, his moustache twitching. "Perhaps once business is done we may share a drink?"

"Perhaps that would be nice," Naomi played along with Axel before standing aside. "But as you say, business must be done. Please, come in, I cannot have you standing on the porch all evening."

The inside of the hall had changed immensely as well, Tanzi found. Where once there had been portraits, flowers, and busts now there were toys piled neatly in the corner and canvases showcasing art of all different kinds – some that looked drawn by a child and some that had clearly been drawn by experts. The thing Tanzi found the most different were the people… Naomi had lived alone most of the time as her parents had a tendency to take holidays but now there were children running about, teenagers chatting to each other, adults drinking coffee while laughing with the elderly.

"After what happened at the hospital and the town many people lost their homes and their families," Naomi explained upon seeing Tanzi's expression as she walked the three of them across the hall. "I could not sit up here with all this space and not do anything… So I founded this shelter. I provide food, shelter, and education. In a way we are our own little community." Naomi smiled and looked around like a mother observing her children. "Originally it was only going to be temporary but I find I enjoy the company. My parents could not believe it when they came back," Naomi chuckled as she started to climb up the stairs. "They decided to move to America so now this mansion truly belongs to me… and I can find no better use than to provide support for the people who need it most."

"That is very noble of you," Jamie said, looking around in amazement. "I am impressed."

"I thank you for the compliment but helping human lives should not be considered impressive. It should be considered expected."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Jamie nodded, looking at Naomi with newfound respect. Tanzi glanced to Axel and could tell that he was completely and totally enraptured with Naomi.

"Ruby is on the top floor," Naomi said as they continued to climb the stairs. "The only floor that is private is the top floor and… privacy is very much needed at the moment."

"How is she? What happened at the Purple Pike? Why are the DSI involved?" Tanzi fired off her questions rapidly causing Naomi to chuckle again and wave a hand.

"I believe there is someone else more suited to answer those questions." The smile faded. "What happened was a tragedy beyond all sense yet… if what Ruby says is true…" Naomi trailed off for a moment before shaking her head. "As I said, it is not my place to tell you the story – I only know parts of it."

As they walked, Tanzi couldn't help but hear a familiar voice down the corridor. She peered down and saw the back of a man with shaggy brown hair that reached to the nape of his shoulders.

"This looks great, Jessie. I love what you've done with the sky. It's abstract but I really think it works," the man was talking to a young girl. He mussed up her hair and the girl, Jessie, giggled. "The hands'll need a bit of improvement though, okay? They can be complicated but I know you have it in you."

"Of course, Zach! Of course I will work on it," Jessie said gleefully.

"Zach?" Tanzi muttered, looking at Naomi. But Naomi had a distinctively worried expression on her face that Tanzi couldn't understand.

The little girl, Jessie, ran off and Zach chuckled to himself and turned. It was clearly Zach Dryer though with a lot more hair. It was as messy and untidy as ever if much longer and he was now sporting a trimmed beard that suited him perfectly. He spotted Naomi and smiled widely. "Naomi!" Then he looked to the other three. "Visitors? New arrivals or—" Then he froze.

All at once Zach's expression changed. The smile faded and his eyes widened. One cheek started to twitch and his mouth dropped slightly. His hands started to quiver as he looked directly at Tanzi.

"Y-Y-You… Y-You…" Zach's voice grew strangely high-pitched as he stared at Tanzi with an almost fearful expression. In one swift motion Naomi strode forward and put her hands on Zach's shoulder, putting herself between him and Tanzi.

"Zachary, perhaps it is best for you to take a break in your room, yes?"

"Ah… Ah…" The quivering grew worse and worse and he looked a hundred miles away from the confident boy Tanzi had known four years before.

Naomi looked over her shoulder. "The door at the far end of the hall. She will be waiting for you," then she turned her attention back to Zach. "Come, Zachary, I shall take you to your room. We will have a glass of lemonade and enjoy the view of the window," and just as if she were coddling a small child Naomi led the shaking Zach away from Tanzi, Jamie, and Axel, heading through one of the side doors.

"What was that about?" Jamie asked, looking at Tanzi.

"I'm… not sure…" Tanzi said but in fact she had an idea of what had spawned Zach's reaction. He had been down in the basement when the fire had raged, killing Jeremiah, Lacey, Carol and coming very close to killing her. Zach had seen them burn and had been practically comatose when Tanzi had seen him outside the ambulance. It seemed like that event had broken him and perhaps he had believed Tanzi had died in the flames along with the rest. Certainly, when Tanzi had been carried out, she could easily have been mistaken for dead. If Zach believed that the Nectar didn't work… "Door at the end, then," Tanzi said to change the subject, walking to the last door at the end of the hallway.

She stood outside it and paused, staring at the white paint. This was it. Behind this door was Ruby and Tanzi hadn't had any contact with her in the four years since the talk in the ambulance. Tanzi felt the guilt flare up inside her. She had never called Ruby, never tried to contact her, never thought to visit Eastbourne… Would Ruby blame her? Four years without contact… Could a friendship last through that? What if she walked through the door and Ruby regarded her as a stranger?

"Tanzi… It's okay. I'm here," Jamie reached up and patted Tanzi gently on the back. Tanzi took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The door instantly opened and another man clad in black opened the door, only this one still had his mask on. The mask was different from the ones most of the combat division wore, emblazoned with the design of some kind of horned demon. He had even constructed two horns to stick out of the hood. He regarded Tanzi first, then Jamie, and finally Axel. When he looked at the big man the masked man nodded and opened the door wide.

There were three other people in the room. The first was another masked man wearing the black body-armour that was so familiar to the Combat Division of the DSI. This man wore a pitch-black trench-coat over the top of his armour though and something that looked strangely like the hilt of a sword protruded out of the trench-coat. He was a slender man who stood with utter and complete confidence. When he saw the three enter, his hand hovered gently over the hilt but otherwise he didn't move.

The next figure was an attractive middle-aged woman with long auburn hair. She was wearing a navy blue suit that showed her form while remaining modest. She was sitting on a chair looking strangely worn out. She turned her head at the three arrivals and a small smile appeared on her lips.

And then there was Ruby Ascot. She was propped up on the bed with pillows and her long red hair flashed in the light. Other than the fact her hair was longer Ruby looked exactly the same. It wasn't like the vision… seeing Ruby again… in the flesh… Tanzi felt a strange feeling choke at her throat. This was it. How would Ruby feel upon seeing her? Ruby eyes rested on Tanzi and the second seemed to last for all too long. Then that mouth stretched out into that oh-so familiar smile that completely lit up her face.

"Tanzi!" In a blur of covers, Ruby scrambled out of the bed, strode over the room and practically tackled into her. She hugged her tightly – so tightly that she found it hard to breath. Tanzi couldn't help but smile herself and tapped Ruby's back. Ruby pulled away breathlessly. "Sorry! Sorry, it's so good to see you!" Then Ruby's face turned alarmed. "What's wrong?" Ruby leaned forward and put a finger under Tanzi's eye, swiping away tears that Tanzi hadn't even realised were there. "Why're you crying?"

"I-I-I… I thought…" It was so stupid. How could she have ever thought that Ruby would forget about their friendship? Stupid, Tanzi, stupid. "…I thought you'd hate me…" Tanzi finished with a mumble.

"Hate you!?" Ruby suddenly roared with laughter, clutching her stomach and stumbled back. The two men in black and the woman looked at her with bemused expressions. "Hahah! Oh god! Oh, it hurts, oh… ow… Don't make me laugh so much…" Ruby fought for control and finally straightened up. "Tanzi, you silly, silly girl! It wouldn't matter if I hadn't seen you for ten years, let alone four, I'd never hate you! You know what… I'm just going to hug you again 'till you stop crying," and Ruby wrapped her arms around Tanzi again.

As the two reunited – Tanzi now laughing along with Ruby – Jamie looked past them at the woman sitting in the chair with a tension running directly up her spine. Out of everything that could have happened, Jamie had not expected to find the CEO of the London branch of the DSI here. "…Lisa?"

Lisa Valentine stood up and slowly walked over to Jamie. "Well, well, well… You've certainly been active. Director Evrard is absolutely furious."

"I…" Jamie closed her eyes for a moment. "I understand if you intend to take us away. But allow me to explain—"

"Shut it," Lisa said sharply and Jamie shut her mouth. Lisa was always a stickler for the rules. No matter what friendship they had before the fact of the matter Jamie had assisted with the escape out of a Facility. Then Lisa broke out into a smile. It certainly wasn't the kind of infectious smile that Ruby had but it was certainly a small smile nevertheless and for Lisa that was impressive. "Always were the rebel, weren't you, Jamie? Reminds me of when we were children," Lisa chuckled and folded her arms across her chess. "Don't worry, Director Evrard thinks you guys are in Spain at the moment. I believe due to the actions of your friend, Siddharth. One of the best, he is."

"I-I don't understand… Why… You don't want to capture us?"

Lisa snorted. "Capture you? For what? For wanting to save lives?" Lisa shrugged. "You didn't hurt anyone in your escape, save for Gabriel's ego but, well, as we all know, Gabriel is a complete and utter moron."

"How did you know we were here? Your man at the Purple Pike…"

"That is my cue to apologise…" Axel's voice surprised Jamie and the big German walked past her to stand beside Lisa. "I… debated whether or not to tell you."

Tanzi had disentangled herself from Ruby and the two of them were watching the exchange with worried expressions. Jamie looked from Axel to Lisa before slowly shaking her head, unable to fight off the grin coming to her face. "You always were a sly one, Lisa… You've been watching over us?"

"Well, not initially," Lisa shrugged, sitting back in her chair. "Axel here is part of my personal Combat Squad." She motioned to man with the trench-coat and the man with the demonic mask. "These are his team members. Oni's the one with the mask, Saint's the one with the sword. You'd have met Wildfire at the Purple Pike."

At this, and realising that there was no particular blame of Jamie to Axel, Tanzi looked at Ruby and then to Lisa. "What happened there? We saw… police and… bodies."

Ruby's smile faltered and Lisa sighed.

"Well," Lisa said. "That… is complicated."

"Not that complicated," Ruby said with enough intensity to surprise Tanzi.

"…Ruby…"

Ruby ignored Lisa and looked directly at Tanzi. "It was Death. As in, literally, Death. He came to the restaurant and he… he killed practically everyone…" Ruby grit her teeth. "Just like that."

"…Huh?" Tanzi blinked, surprised. "What…?"

"Death, Tanzi, a physical embodiment of Death. He raised his hands and people just… collapsed…"

"That is conjecture," Lisa said firmly.

"It's not conjecture, it's fact! I was there! I saw it! I'm only alive 'cause of this stuff in my veins!" Ruby flared. "I would have thought you'd have been more open to the concept considering you're the Department of _Supernatural_ Investigation!"

"As I explained, Ruby, only when the Doomsday Clock hits zero does Death and his brethren walk the Earth…"

"Well, your clock is wrong! Christ, he told me himself. I looked into his eyes and… I could tell. If you were there, if you saw what I saw, saw what he did, saw what he _said_ , then you'd know, Lisa, and we wouldn't be going back and forth! We have to stop him."

"Enough, Ruby," Lisa said, looking to Jaime and Tanzi. "We've both had friends return to us. This should wait until later."

"Hang on," Tanzi interjected, looking at Ruby strangely. "I… I can prove that what Ruby says is true."

Everyone in the room regarded Tanzi with an expression that said she was crazy, save for Jaime, who quickly realised what Tanzi was talking about.

"My Ability," Tanzi elaborated. "I've been training with it for the last four years, Ruby. I can inherit people's memories and not lose control of myself. I could go into your mind and see what you saw. That would work for you, wouldn't it?" She looked to Lisa and Lisa slowly nodded.

"I know of your Ability and know that it would prove what Ruby says is true…"

"Only if you want to, Ruby," Tanzi turned back to Ruby. "It's completely safe and I'll be extra careful—"

"Do it," Ruby said firmly, glaring at Lisa. "If you can prove to her that what I saw was real then we can act on it."

"A-Are you sure?" Tanzi had her doubts now. Perhaps she had been too hasty in offering to go into Ruby's mind. She could clearly see Ruby was passionate about proving to Lisa what she saw was true but Tanzi hadn't heard the whole story.

Ruby smiled. "I trust you, Tanzi. If anyone is going to go through my head then you're the one I'd choose."

"Well… Okay, then…" Tanzi pulled off both her gloves and stretched her fingers. It was always nice to let them breathe fresh air. But Jamie put her hand on her shoulder.

"Tanzi… Are you… certain?" While it was true Tanzi had improved immensely with her Ability, what Tanzi was suggesting was a search for a specific memory. She had never tried something like that before. She could take a person's mind and traits but doing something so precise…

"This sounds important. If it is truly… Death… that Ruby saw then surely if I prove that then the DSI can take action? I mean, he's the reason behind the Lists, the reason behind all the deaths…" Ruby frowned slightly at this but didn't say anything as Tanzi spoke. "Jaime… I can do this."

With that, Tanzi turned to Ruby and slowly raised her hands on either side of Ruby's red hair. They looked into each other's eyes and Ruby couldn't help but grin slyly. "You know, this is almost romantic. You don't need to kiss me to get into my memories?"

The joke relaxed the remaining tension in Tanzi's shoulders and she murmured, "This will only take a moment," before placing the palms of her hands on either side of Ruby's head.

* * *

 _The memory came quick to Tanzi as it was at the forefront of Ruby's mind. Instantly she found herself standing in the Purple Pike but something was very, very wrong. Bodies were spread all across the floor and a strange foreign looking woman was standing among them, staring past Tanzi. Tanzi followed her gaze and had to stifle a gasp. Ruby was clutching a bleeding stomach and a strange man garbed in robes was standing in front of her._

 _"Look at your body… Such healing… is simply amazing for a mortal." The man spoke in a voice that sent shivers through Tanzi's spine. Ruby slowly stood and the man suddenly grabbed her arm, slamming her hand against the wall._

 _Realising what was happening, Tanzi stepped forward, forgetting in the moment that this was just a memory. "No! Ruby!"_

 _The knife slid into Ruby's hand like butter and her scream sent shocks running through Tanzi's mind. The scream echoed around the room and it started to blur, a pain filling Tanzi's own head. She felt the world spin and turn and then it was gone._

* * *

" _Welcome to the For The People festival!" The booming voice of the smiling host echoed over the field swamped with people. "My name is Eddy Cool and I shall be your host this evening! But you don't want to hear me talk! Let's get the first act under way and it's gonna be a big one! It's Pantheon!"_

 _The cheers were thunderous and She looked left and wide, the smile on Her face threatening to break out of Her cheeks. She couldn't believe that She was here at Her first festival, seeing Pantheon live on stage. She had saved up for so long just get a ticket and She knew that it was worth it, even though She hadn't seen any of the main acts perform yet. It was so worth ditching school to be here._

* * *

" _I told you not to go! You're too young!"_

 _"I'm going to be eighteen in a couple of months, what's the harm?"_

 _"The harm? Ruby, you drive me crazy…" Her mother shook her head and She had to smile. "Look at you, always smiling, as if it's gonna get you out of trouble…" But the force was gone from Her mother's voice. "It could have been dangerous. If they caught on to your age you could have been charged… and Ruby, you're too good for that."_

 _"If it makes any difference, it was worth it all. The Festival was massive! So many people! The bands that performed… Pantheon was there, mum, and there were even more amazing live! I met so many great people, strange, but great! I'm definitely gonna go next year!"_

* * *

 _She was walking along the curb, humming lightly to Herself, a bag of shopping swinging back and forth in Her hand. As She passed an alley She heard a strange movement. She turned and saw a figure half submerged in a dumpster. The figure dropped out and She could see that the figure was a girl looking worse for wear, her blonde hair all askew. She looked about Her own age._

 _"Hey," She called out, stricken by a sudden urge. She fished into her bag and pulled out a wrapped sandwich. The girl looked at her strangely but caught the sandwich as She threw it at her. "It's not poisonous, honest!" She walked over to the girl but paused as the girl flinched. "Nor am I, for that matter. I'm Ruby!" The girl regarded Her suspiciously. "And you?" She prompted._

 _It took a long moment but finally she spoke. "…Sabrina Holland…"_

" _...You really want me to move in with you?" Sabrina looked at Her with_

* * *

 _an expression of disbelief. "Me? A complete stranger? I mean… thanks for the dinner but…"_

 _"Come on, surely a sofa is better to sleep in than a doorstep, right? Look at you, you're diving in dumpsters for food."_

 _"But—"_

 _"No buts! You'll sleep here tonight at the very least. It's raining out there and I am not going to let you freeze to death! Got it?"_

 _"Ruby…"_

 _"Don't you Ruby me. That's final. You'll have to pick up the slack, though, Sabrina. Clean up your own messes, get yourself a job to contribute with the rent—"_

 _"A job!?"_

 _"Sure."_

 _"I can't get a job."_

 _"Why not? You're polite enough when you want to be and we can get you into retail or something. Get some money in your pockets."_

 _"I don't even have a home."_

 _"And you aren't listening to me!" She grinned widely. "This is your home now, Sabrina!"_

* * *

" _Are you sure you're okay?" She looked at Sabrina staring in the mirror with concern. "Sabrina…?" She placed Her hand on Sabrina's shoulder. "What's wrong?"_

 _"The door will open…" Sabrina muttered._

 _"The door?"_

 _"A girl… Small. Wild." Somehow, at Sabrina's words, a girl did come into the restroom at a quick pace disappearing into one of the stalls. She looked at Sabrina, amazed. "Ruby, we need to get out of here."_

 _She shook Her head. "What's going on? You look scared to death."_

 _"We need to get out of here!"_

* * *

" _Do you know anything about what happened at the Ferret Inn?" Eugene Hawk leaned forward, his eyes gleaming._

 _"The Ferret Inn?" She looked at the two of them, confused._

 _"She knows nothing, Hawk. We're wasting our time." The big man growled, his Irish accent prominent._

 _"Don't worry, Harold. I was just waiting for…"_

 _She looked at Eugene to the door, which had just been unlocked. The door swung open and Sabrina walked in. The tension between the three of them was palpable and She couldn't understand why._

 _"Get out…"_

 _"Sabrina Holland. It's been a whi—"_

 _"Get out."_

 _Eugene grinned. "There's no need to be like that. We only want to confirm the similarities—"_

 _Sabrina's fist came out of nowhere, crashing into Eugene's jaw. The man fell flat against the floor and She couldn't believe it. She had never seen Sabrina so violent before._

* * *

 _"…I can't do that… Because I won't be around to be that Sabrina Holland."_

 _Sabrina placed the knife in Her hand._

 _"What are you-?" She felt the cold of the handle and felt something horrible shiver up Her spine._

 _"You are a… very special person, Ruby. It's unbelievable that you've managed to overcome my sense of survival. That's… That's magical. It really is. I don't know if this will work but… I hope it does. I hope that you can go on to enjoy your life, Ruby."_

 _"Sabrina, don't—"_

 _"Ssh…" She could feel Sabrina's hand over Her own on the handle of the blade. "I had a choice, Ruby. Me or you. Survival or death. Last time I chose me, I chose survival. This time… You're too good a person to go." Sabrina closed her eyes. "I love you, Ruby Ascot."_

* * *

 _She stood at the entrance of the Purple Pike hesitantly. The first interview at a job was always a worrisome one. But if She was to successfully move to Eastbourne She had to have this job. That was a given. Taking a deep breath, She stepped through the door and looked around. It was a pleasant enough place and there was a woman walking towards the counter._

 _She quickly walked up to her and cleared Her throat, "Um, hi, I'm Ruby… I got an interview today?" The woman turned around and She drew in a deep breath. The woman was beautiful, clearly of Asian descent with straight black her and the most wonderful eyes…_

 _Then Tanzi was back, staring at Ruby in the place they first met. A horrible feeling welling up and Tanzi immediately drew back…_

* * *

"I'm so sorry!" Tanzi apologised as she pulled her hands away from Ruby's skull. "I didn't mean… I didn't intend… I… I…" A pulse ran up to her head and she winced. Ruby's mouth was open in slight surprise and her eyes moved to focus in on Tanzi. "Ruby…" Tanzi felt sick and felt the world spinning. She tried to hold on but another pulse ran through her head and she found the floor rushing up to meet her all too fast.


	20. Connections

**Chapter Seventeen**

 **Connections**

 _18:03 GMT_

 _Eastbourne, England_

 _14 Hours Remaining_

Tanzi felt the bile in her throat and had to force it back as she climbed back to her feet. There was a familiar throbbing in her forehead and the tips of her fingers were tingling. It wasn't the first time she had collapsed over the course of the four years learning her Ability and being able to get back up only after a few seconds was a new record.

"Tanzi…" Jamie put a hand on Tanzi's back, rubbing slowly, her brows furrowed in concern. She _knew_ trying to do such a delicate thing would backfire without any practice.

"What happened?" Lisa asked, her eyes scanning over Tanzi's pale complexion.

Tanzi tried to reply but could only look to Ruby. The guilt was gnawing at her heart. She had just seen some of Ruby's most private memories, memories that defined who she was and who she would become. She had of course heard about Sabrina Holland's relationship and subsequent death but Ruby had never gone into detail. Tanzi knew she shouldn't have seen that – any of it.

"We nearly got there," Ruby said, her voice shaking ever-so-slightly. She quickly flashed a comforting smile at Tanzi but Tanzi knew she didn't deserve it. "I think it's just a bit crowded in here. I think if it's just us two we can get the connection we need."

Once again with those analytical eyes Lisa looked over Ruby before nodding. "Abilities are often hard to perform under many watchful eyes. We'll give you your space." Lisa strode over to the door and left the room with Saint, Axel, and Oni directly on her heels, all three of whom moving as quiet as ghosts. Jamie patted Tanzi on the back before following Lisa and her squad out of the room.

The moment the door shut Tanzi turned to Ruby. "I'm so sorry—"

"Don't apologise," Ruby quickly interrupted, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. She patted the space next to her and Tanzi sat, feeling absolutely terrible. "C'mon, don't be like that. I told you, if there is anyone I trust with my memories it's you."

"But to make you see those memories again…"

"You didn't make me see them. I think on those memories – and more – all the time. You must have had a lot of control in order to keep the memories to a few."

"Don't spin this into something good, Ruby, what I did was… wrong. It was a terrible idea."

"Tanzi, stop," Ruby said firmly. "Look at me. Come on, look at me."

Tanzi reluctantly turned to face Ruby's resolute expression.

"Those memories were strong memories for me, Tanzi. The For The People festival was my first festival and while I was _technically_ underage it was pretty damn amazing. Pantheon was always my favourite band. Of course, the memories of Sabrina are always strong for different reasons. Especially her punching Eugene," Ruby smiled, never taking her eyes off of Tanzi. "He was an absolute bastard. I'm glad you never met him. He and that Irish prick of his. What he did to Sabrina and everyone from Epsilon… a little weasel if I'd ever known one. Meeting you at the Purple Pike may not have been important at that point in time but as our friendship grew so did that memory."

Tanzi smiled back at this. It was a small smile and didn't get rid of the ugly feeling in her stomach but it did at least make her feel a little better.

"But Tanzi, those memories were one of a few. I may not like to talk about them but it's not as if I'm hiding them from you. There were many memories you didn't see… hard memories. I wasn't sure if I'd ever walk again after the events at the construction site and having to work on walking at the hospital… every single step was agony. All the while Sabrina's death was fresh on my mind as was what she did. I loved her yet she was a murderer. I hated her yet she was a hero." Ruby sighed but still kept her gaze firmly connected with Tanzi's. "I've told you before that Sabrina had her issues…"

"You don't have to…" Tanzi started but Ruby shook her head.

"I know, but I want to. There were two people Sabrina killed at that construction site and they were deaths that could have been avoided. Meagan Thompson was used like a tool and thrown away by Eugene Hawk… she was a good person in a bad circumstance yet Sabrina held her down and strangled her. Squeezed the very life out of her… and Lily Talbot… she helped us, fought for us, yet Sabrina she…" Ruby winced. "…She let her anger take control of her and…" She gulped and shook her head. "It was bad. The point I'm trying to make Tanzi is that I don't mind sharing these memories with you. I have absolutely nothing to hide, Tanzi, especially from you. So let's try again. Put those hands against my head and we'll get the memory of Death at the Purple Pike, I promise."

Tanzi finally broke her gaze away from Ruby and looked at her feet. "I… I…" Then she realised what she could do and turned back to Ruby. "I'll let you into my mind. I'll let you see my memories. The things that are… too hard for me to talk about. Things I've never told anyone, Ruby, that I've kept close. About my mother, about what I've done… that'll make up for it. I won't take no for an answer. Just as I am to you, you are to me. Let me show you my strongest memories."

* * *

Jamie, Lisa, and her squad all stood outside the door quietly, waiting for any sign that they could go back in again. Jamie peered at Lisa to catch her eye and was surprised to find that Lisa was staring directly at her. Lisa had a strange expression on her face and at that moment Jamie knew that Lisa had found out what had happened to William and Mike. Of course she had. Lisa was always resourceful like that.

"Oni, Saint, Axel, leave us be," Lisa said after a long moment. Saint simply shook his head, not speaking. That was one of the main rules of the Combat Division of the DSI. If the mask is up, then the voice is gone.

"We can't leave you alone, ma'am, you know that," Axel said as he was not bound by the rules out of uniform. He was completely avoiding Jamie's gaze and Jamie knew that they'd have to have a chat eventually. She didn't blame him – after all, Axel had helped them out of the facility. He was clearly an ally, especially if he was on Lisa's personal Combat squad.

"Then stand at the end of the corridor," Lisa said impatiently. "Go on." Oni shrugged and Axel looked reluctant, but Saint simply nodded and led the other two away. When they were further away Lisa suddenly reached forward and pulled Jamie close in a tight hug – something very uncharacteristic for Lisa, even when she wasn't working. "I'm sorry about Mike. About William. They were the good ones."

"They… were," Jamie agreed, her voice cracking slightly. She had tried not to think too much about it on the long journey here but in the moments of quiet she couldn't help but think about the Milano brothers. They couldn't even bury Mike's body and William was trapped in that god-awful shuttle on his way to a certain death. A quiver ran through her body and Lisa pulled away, keeping her fingers firmly on Jamie's shoulders.

"We don't falter," Lisa said firmly. "We don't look back."

"…We always look ahead…" Jamie finished quietly.

"Did you tell Rose?"

"I did."

"How did she take it?"

"Honestly… I'm not sure. She seemed to take it… well as could be, I suppose," Jamie shrugged. "With everything that's going on though I don't think it's truly sunk in yet."

"Mike'll be happy you told her," Lisa nodded. "The truth is hard yet it was necessary."

"I wonder if Marie will forgive Mike…" Jamie said.

"Perhaps," Lisa replied and the two of them shared a long quiet moment.

Jamie broke the silence first. "How're your two?"

Lisa sighed. "Joshua is… well, Joshua. This life isn't made for him but what else can I do? He's got his own squad now."

"Oh? How's he taking that?"

"He at least seems to enjoy the company. One of the members of the squad, Quebec, is nearly the same age. I think they're forming a friendship – a true friendship."

"That should be healthy for him."

Lisa shook her head. "I don't know about that. Joshua's never had a proper friend. I fear he may break it before it gets anywhere."

"Don't put him down like that. He needs your support," Jamie tried but Lisa shook her head again.

"The United Kingdom needs my support. The world needs my support. Joshua is stubborn, he'll manage. It's better that way."

"Like mother, like son, eh?" Jamie smiled.

"I suppose so. We don't share much but our stubbornness is unmatched," Lisa allowed a chuckle. "Miles is doing extremely well though. He's passing test after test with ease. He's the top of every class he's in."

"Impressive for a six-year-old," Jamie noted. "I don't know where he gets the smarts though. Certainly not over here," she playfully punched Lisa on the shoulder. Jamie let out a laugh at Lisa's expression but the laugh slipped away into the quiet. "Shit… It feels… wrong… to laugh after everything that's happened. After everything that's going to happen," Jamie grit her teeth and shook her head. "We can't save them all, Lisa. Rose knows it as well. God… Siddharth is looking up ways to stop the List but with no more Nectar… I… I don't know…"

"Siddharth Bola is the most intelligent man that has ever worked for the DSI," Lisa said and that was high praise indeed. Lisa generally never gave out compliments. "He knows the systems. He'll find whatever the DSI are hiding and he'll find a way to save them all."

"…If something happened to Rose…"

"It won't."

"But if it did—"

"You can't think of the if's, Jamie, not one second. We don't falter. We don't look back. We always look ahead. All I know, Jamie, is that you'll do your best to save Rose and the rest."

"I suppose it's too much to ask for your help?"

Lisa smiled bitterly. "Considering you're on the run from the DSI, I can't. Besides…" Lisa rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I've got my own doubts. It used to be the focus was on the Doomsday Clock but lately it seems—"

Before Lisa could finish the sentence the door opened and Ruby and Tanzi were standing in the doorway, both looking strangely different. Jamie couldn't put her finger on it but there was some kind of… understanding between them.

"Well?" Lisa asked brusquely, back to business as usual.

"What Ruby said was true," Tanzi said confidently. "Death was in Eastbourne. The man wasn't human. I could sense it."

"…Shit," Lisa's fingers went back to the bridge of her nose, massaging them. Saint, Oni, and Axel were walking back as she turned to Jamie. "We have to go immediately. I've got things to get to because of this." She turned to Tanzi and Ruby. "Thank you. This information will be vital for the months and years to come."

"Thanks for coming on such a crazy call," Ruby said.

"I deal in the supernatural. I don't think anything is crazy," Lisa nodded. "But remember, Ruby, that was a one-time use only."

"…Does it have to be?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid so. I cannot afford to act on one single person… no matter _who_ they are. It doesn't matter if it's a close friend or even my own sons. I work to save as many as I can. I cannot play favourites. But Ruby…" Lisa offered her hand and Ruby clasped it in surprise. "You're strong. You've been through a lot but you're still smiling. That's going to be important over the next couple of years. When the Doomsday Clock hits zero we'll need people like you to shepherd the masses."

"What's that supposed—" Ruby started but Lisa had already turned away. "Axel. I would like you to stay with Jamie. I want you to act as her personal guard until this whole situation with Rose Milano is over with."

Axel saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

"Then we'll be leaving." Lisa started but stopped. "The Milano's are heroes. All three of them." Then she continued, flanked by Oni and Saint, leaving Axel, Ruby, Tanzi, and Jamie behind.

They stayed standing for a long moment before Tanzi let out a big sigh and turned to Ruby. "Ruby… You saw what I saw at the Facility. You know why we're here."

"You want to talk to Leslie," Ruby said quietly. There was a strange sadness in her eyes that Tanzi understood all too well. The two of them had allowed their minds to meld and they shared everything in their lives. All of their experiences, all of their successes, all of their failures, Tanzi and Ruby's connection had grown to the point beyond normal human experience. There were no secrets between them, no hidden feelings. For the two of them, everything had been laid on the table. "Follow me."

"He's here?" Jamie asked, surprised.

"Leslie lost his parents in the explosion. One of many," Ruby shook her head as she recalled a particular memory. "I was helping with the recovery effort when I discovered him trapped under rubble. He was nearly dead – he was only alive because of the actions of his parents. I rescued him and we formed a kind of… connection…" Ruby smiled widely. "I never expected to have kids but Leslie is as close as I'll ever get."

* * *

"…and the Dragon atop the castle decided, at the end of the day, that perhaps _working_ with the princess would free both of them from their captivity. And you know what, Ellie? It worked! The Princess hid in the Dragon's mouth and the Dragon claimed to the evil Wizard that he had eaten the Princess, just like the Wizard wanted. So the Wizard freed the Dragon. The Dragon flew and flew, over the mountains and to the Princess' home. At first the people suspected the Dragon but he opened his mouth and out walked the Princess. That Dragon was the _first_ ever Dragon to be knighted and the whole world soon came to know of the tale of Sir Bleakbreath the First!"

"And what happened to the Knight?"

"Well, the Knight got lost. He was last seen seeking directions from what he thought was a farmer. Turned out it was a scarecrow! But, hey, that Princess didn't need that silly little Knight in the end, did she?"

"Heheheh!" Ellie giggled and pulled the covers tighter around her shoulders, snuggling into the warmth. "That was so silly!"

Leslie Carlson smiled warmly under his fringe of long blonde hair. "But you enjoyed it, yes?"

"Yes!"

"Then it achieved its goal. The legend of Sir Bleakbreath shall continue tomorrow but first I think you need to get to sleep."

"Okay… Goodnight, Leslie!"

"Night-night, don't let the bedbugs bite," and with a small ruffle of Ellie's hair, the fourteen-year old Leslie straightened, turned the lamp off sitting on the desk, and turned towards the door where he was surprised to see Naomi leaning on the doorframe. He quietly walked past her and Naomi shut the door. "Hey, Naomi. Is everything okay?" Leslie could tell something was on Naomi's mind. Her expression didn't seem quite so serene as it had been. He suspected it had something to do with those strangers that had arrived.

"I will be honest with you, Leslie, no. Would you like to follow me?" Naomi turned and Leslie followed, nonplussed.

"What's going on?" Leslie's voice fell on deaf ears. It was strange for Naomi to be so distant. She often liked to talk to the people at the shelter. She was definitely the mother hen of their community so it was strange for her to be acting like this. Naomi led him upstairs to the top floor and Leslie hesitated for a moment. He had never been to the top floor – it was the only private place in the massive Collado mansion. However Naomi did not stop so Leslie continued after her, growing continually nervous for each passing moment.

Finally Naomi came to a stop outside one of the doors and turned around to Leslie. She looked down at him for a long moment before dropping to one-knee to hug the smaller Leslie.

"Naomi? What's going on?"

Naomi pulled away and there was a sad expression on her face. "I… I am sorry, Leslie."

"Heh…" Leslie ran a hand through his hair, confused. "That doesn't sound good," his joking tone when completely ignored as Naomi opened the door for him. Leslie hesitantly made his way into the room and Naomi came in after, closing the door behind them. The first thing he saw was Ruby, sitting on a chair with her fingers linked. Leslie looked at her but Ruby didn't speak. It was the first time he had seen her without her smile.

The three strangers were in the room along with Ruby. The big man with the bushy moustache stood in the corner, looking threatening in this stifling atmosphere. The older woman sat on the edge of a bed, smiling softly with a tinge of that same sadness Naomi had. The woman with straight hair and the gloves sat next to Ruby, her hands flat on her knees. Naomi stayed standing by the door and Leslie held the horrible impression he was getting examined by all of them.

"Ruby…?" Leslie asked, his voice quiet. "What is… What is going on?"

"Leslie…" Ruby's voice was sad. "I'm afraid we need to have a word. There's a… situation and you're involved in it."

A situation? What possible situation could he be in considering these strangers? He had never seen them before and he was certain he would have remembered those three. It was clear Ruby and Naomi knew who they were as well which surprised Leslie. Ruby had never mentioned them.

"I'm going to have to explain some things to you, Leslie, and they're going to seem shocking. Unbelievable. But they are all true. I can vouch for it, Tanzi here can vouch for it, and Naomi can vouch for it." Ruby took a moment before leaning forward in her chair. "We'll start with what we call Visions…"


	21. The Sanders Siblings

**Chapter Eighteen**

 **The Sanders Siblings**

 _19:45 GMT  
Dublin, Ireland_

The pulse of the deep-techno music rang across the neighbourhood as the party had gotten into full swing. It was dark enough so the multi-coloured lights bloomed over the yard of the Byrne household. Had it been any other house then the neighbours would surely have complained but nobody complained about the Byrne's – rumours swirled around Dublin that the Byrne's were part of the Irish Mob though they were unfounded.

Inside was a mass of people off all different ages. There were college students to young adults to even a few thirty-something's. Some were dancing to the pounding music, others were lounging in seats with cigarettes in their fingers, and others were huddled in the corners with a handful of clothes, moving to an entirely different rhythm. Rubbish and litter was spread all across the floor but nobody cared, happily throwing used cups against the walls or throwing crumpled up wrappers at other people.

In the middle of the throng of dancing people, Alisha Sanders was twisting her hips in front of Aiden Byrne himself, the entitled son. He mostly walked around with an air of authority that he didn't have and made threats he couldn't keep but the fact he was the son of the Byrne's meant he was feared just like his parents. Alisha's curly brown hair bounced as she smiled seductively at Aiden, batting her wide brown eyes at him, only a shade darker than her chocolate skin.

"Damn…" Aiden grinned at her, small in his own right but wearing an expensive suit and a solid gold watch, doing his best to live up to his parent's rumoured heritage. "Who needs lights when you're lightin' up the room?"

Alisha snorted slightly and stepped another step closer to Aiden, putting both hands on his shoulders as she gyrated her hips, taking no care in the world of the other party-goers. There was a strong smell of alcohol on her lips as she leaned a little closer to Aiden. "You're so corny," She giggled and got even closer, rubbing her chest slowly on Aiden's own. "You think that kind of line is gonna work with me?"

"It seems like it already has," Aiden crept his hands around her waist, moving with her rhythm.

"You're just imagining it!" Alisha insisted as she leaned close enough to Aiden's face that they would be touching lips if she only leaned forward one inch more. "…'Sides, words… words don't work on me!"

"Oh? Actions work a whole lot better?" Aiden's hands moved down and gave a sharp squeeze making Alisha gasp slightly. "Good to know."

Alisha only giggled and suddenly stepped away before pulling at Aiden's hand. "C'mon, take me up to your room! I wanna see what big bad Aiden Byrne's room looks like! I bet it's _interesting_ …"

The less-than-subtle implication behind Alisha's words were not lost on Aiden and he nodded. "Sounds like a great idea, darlin'. Somewhere private would certainly… be better…" His eyes trailed up and down her body before leading her away from the throng of people and up the stairs. It was a lot less crowded up on the second floor though there were still a few of the hardcore party-goers who were sampling Aiden's private wares.

He quickly opened his own bedroom's door and went in, unbuttoning his jacket and turning around. Aiden grinned wickedly as Alisha was already pulling the straps of her shirt down. He eyed her up and down before pushing forward and planting his lips against her. Alisha accepted him eagerly and their hands started exploring, experimenting with new sensations and new places. Everything was going perfectly until there was a sharp rap on the door.

"What the _fuck_ is it?!" Aiden called out, pulling away from the reluctant Alisha. She kissed at his neck, unfastening the buttons of his shirt one by one before continuing the kisses down his chest. The door opened and a nervous looking man stood there. "This better be good, Doherty," Aiden gestured to Alisha who was now trailing her fingers around his belly button, giggling slightly to herself. "I'm busy."

"It's…" The man started but was suddenly shoved aside by another larger young man, sending him stumbling. The new arrival had bright ginger hair that clashed with his gleaming green eyes but his broad-shouldered footballer body certainly made up for the ridiculousness of it.

"Where is she, Byrne!?" The boy demanded before his eyes quickly made his way to Alisha kneeling on the floor. "Alisha?! Get up from there," he reached down to grab her arm but Alisha slapped it away.

"…Whaddaya want, _Derek_ , this place isn't great for a goody-two-shoes like you."

Derek Sanders did his best to keep the firm expression on his face, pushing his nerves down. He was never a violent person but he had to use his body shape to its full advantage in front of Aiden Byrne. "You're on curfew, Alisha, you know that."

"Screw the curfew! I'm not gonna, gonna go with you…" Alisha's words were starting to slur together as she grabbed at Aiden's belt buckle, still on her knees. "Now go, go away…"

"Alisha!" Derek stepped forward but Aiden put a hand on his chest, looking threateningly at Derek despite standing a foot and a half smaller than the football player.

"She said no, boy, so I'd suggest you get the _fuck_ off my property 'fore someone gets hurt," Aiden growled.

"Yeah, well I think the police will have something to say about that," Derek said and Aiden immediately laughed, throwing his head back.

"Hah! The cops? You think they're gonna bust _me_ for a little bit of a party? You're not too bright are ya?"

"Perhaps not for the party. But, even though your name is Byrne, I think even your parents wouldn't be able to get you out for sleeping with a minor," Derek said, his words slicing through the air like a knife and stopping Aiden in his tracks completely. He looked from Derek to Alisha in horror.

"You said you were seventeen!"

"... _practically…_ seventeen…" Alisha mumbled, having great difficulty with the belt buckle. Aiden instantly pushed her away and Alisha shot to her feet, enraged. "What the _fuck_!?"

"What the fuck do you mean, what the fuck!?" Aiden practically shrieked. "You're the fuck, you fuckin' fucked… _fuck!_ I ain't sleepin' with no kid no matter how hot she is. Christ on a fuckin' pike, get the fuck out of here!" Aiden turned away and Derek quickly grabbed his sister's hand, pulling her out of the room.

All the way through the throng Alisha resisted Derek but he was bigger and stronger. He pulled his sister forcibly through the crowd as quick as he could, getting her out of the house and crossing the lawn. As they reached the pavement Alisha finally managed to wriggle herself free. "Derek!? What are you doing? Why'd you come you big… big…" Alisha struggled for the words and pathetically pushed against his chest. "You big meanie!"

"Our parents are worried," Derek said, letting out a huge sigh. Forcing his way into that house and standing in front of Aiden Byrne like that had taken a lot out of him. He absolutely despised confrontation and would do his best to make friends and at least get along with everyone. He enjoyed football but unlike the American's barbaric version it was more about speed and versatility, rather than rough-shod smashing into people. Though people often said Derek was built for American Football. At eighteen he was bigger than any his age with shoulders that could knock someone out if he wasn't careful. If it hadn't been for his hair, his freckles, and his strange child-like face, his friends said that Derek would have been at the top of the school chain.

"You mean _your_ parents are worried," Alisha snarled, turning around and crossing her arms like a petulant child.

"I mean, technically, you're still related to our dad. It's only mum who—"

"Don't you technically me!" Alisha hissed and grew even more furious upon seeing Derek's lop-sided smile. "Gah! You're so frustrating you oaf of a stupid-" She stopped speaking and made a funny little movement, accompanied by a slight rumbling sound.

"Alisha?" Derek stepped forward in concern but it was too late as Alisha suddenly keeled over and let out the very liquidated contents of her stomach over the edge of the curb onto the tarmacked road. Derek immediately fell to his knees next to his sister and held her head carefully, using his thumbs to keep her hair out from her face. Alisha continued to expel the vomit for quite a while as Derek waited patiently, switching one hand to gently rub her back.

"…Aurgh…" Alisha let out a groan and finally sat back against the curb, the strobe lights flashing against her very pale looking face. Derek quickly let go and Alisha looked away, pouting. "…Thanks."

"No worries," Derek replied.

"I still hate you."

Derek's mouth twitched in a smile. "I know."

"And I hate your mother."

"I also know that."

"And your stupid little dog."

"Now what did Cupid ever do to you?"

"She exists."

"Now that's just harsh."

The two siblings fell silent, sitting on the curb for a long while with nothing more to say. Finally Derek stood up and wrinkled his nose. "Come on, Alisha, let's move away from here. This music is giving me a headache." Derek offered his hand to Alisha who at the very least seemed to have sobered up slightly now that most of the alcohol was lying on the road.

"What?" Alisha shook her head and accepted Derek's hand, pulling herself shakily to her feet. "It's not because of my vomit at our feet?"

"No, not at all," Derek grinned and, still holding Alisha's hand, started walking away from the Byrne household. They walked in silence but Alisha never pulled away. It was clear she was still weak and Derek was ready to catch her if she fell. However they made it a few blocks before Alisha spotted a bench and quickly took the chance to sit down, finally letting go of Derek's hand. Derek sat down next to her and stared across the small park area to a lady walking her dog. He watched them disappear into the darkness of the evening before speaking, not looking at Alisha. "Why do you do this to yourself, Alisha?"

A long minute passed before Alisha responded. "It makes me feel happy."

"It doesn't _look_ like it makes you happy."

Alisha responded with a shrug and kicked at a patch of earth at the base of the bench. "I can be myself like that."

"That's not you, Alisha. At a party like that? That's not you. Drinking and… well, I hope you didn't do anything else. That's not you. And Aiden Byrne? What you were about to do?" Derek turned his head to look at his younger sister. "That is definitely not you."

"I'd think I know who I am," Alisha responded and crushed the small pile of dirt she had made with her foot. "So who do _you_ think I am?"

"I think you're Alisha Sanders," Derek responded immediately.

"Wow, that's so inspired." Alisha said sarcastically. "So what makes up Alisha Sanders?"

"Your wits," Derek tapped her head but Alisha quickly brushed his finger away. "Your brain, Alisha, that's what makes you, you. If you put your brain to good use instead of drowning it in alcohol then you can make something of yourself. You can break out of your misery and become something amazing."

"Like what? A maths teacher?"

"Like whatever you want to be." Derek smiled and looked up at the cloudless night sky where the stars glittered down at them. "When I first met you said you wanted to walk on Mars."

Alisha looked incredulously at her brother. "Are you telling me to go into space?! Are you an utter moron?"

"Why not?" Derek said seriously. "You shouldn't give up on your dreams."

"It wasn't a dream, Derek, it was a fantasy."

"Alright, so what is your dream?" Derek asked. He didn't expect an answer but it seemed like Alisha was actually thinking about it. Then she leaned forward, her hair cascading over her cheeks, covering her expression.

"…I want… I want to be happy…"

Derek looked at her with a frown. "And what is going to make you happy, Alisha?"

"Why do you even care?"

"I'm your older brother. It's my job to care about my little sister."

"I…" Alisha took a deep breath before speaking. "I want to find the perfect man. I want to live in a little house in the woods with a kid running around us. I want a library full of books of all sorts of things and I want to live with my family until I'm old and grey. Don't laugh."

"I'm not laughing," Derek said and smiled softly. "I think that's amazing. But do you think Aiden is that man?"

There was a long pause then, "No."

"No," Derek agreed. "Him. His parents. Everyone in the house. They are not remotely related to your man, sis. You need to look elsewhere to find true love."

Alisha straightened up and Derek was happy to see a smile on her face. She was still pale but it seemed she had at least worked most of it out of her system. "I don't think you're one to give me emotional advice, Derek."

"That's true. It's not my expertise." Derek chuckled. "But I can try. If you ever need someone to talk to you know that I'm there. Stay away from that life," he gestured in the direction of the house. "Stay away from it all. You're better than that. You're better than them." He lightly shoved her shoulder and grinned at his sister. "You've got the whole world in front of you, Alisha! It's yours for the taking!"


	22. The Secrets of Jade Skysong

**Chapter Nineteen**

 **The Secrets of Jade Skysong**

 _Dortmund, Germany_

 _21:04 CET_

 _12 Hours Remaining_

"…Damn… I'm absolutely shattered…" Bethany Cross dropped into the comfy hotel room armchair, sinking in a couple of inches as she threw her head back, staring up at the ceiling. She was still wearing her dark purple attire along with the usual leather jacket she had worn on stage for the concert at the Signal Iduna Hall. Her hair had been tied back into a tight ponytail but there were more than a few errant strands that were making an escape from the seal.

"Is it bad if I can't feel my fingers?" Sticks' lopsided grin looked slightly concerned as he flexed his fingers back and forth. There were visible red marks extending all across his fingers from the drumming he had just been doing. The aches ran up his elbows and his shoulders right to the top of his spine. Nevertheless he looked satisfied as he fumbled with the handle of the mini-fridge and pulled out a can of lager, sloppily throwing it over the room.

Murphy caught it with one hand and peered at the label through his shades. "Hrm. Cheap stuff." Then he shrugged, clicked open the tab, and took a big swig. Beads of sweat were dotting his forehead and his hair was sticking to the sides of his face.

"Cheap stuff is the best stuff," Jade Skysong responded as she caught another can from Sticks' direction and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking as worn out as the rest of them. She took a massive gulp before falling back-first onto the bed.

Bethany received her can from Sticks and clicked open the tab though she didn't take a drink. Instead she raised it into the air. "That was a great show! Cheers!"

"Cheers!" The rest of them echoed and all four of the Miracle Skyhawks held their cans into the air. Bethany leaned more comfortably into the chair and glanced over to Jade.

"I think the new song was well received, Jade," Bethany said but Jade didn't look entirely convinced as she pushed herself back up to a sitting position.

"I don't know… they weren't as loud as they were for _Soaring in the Sky_ ," Jade frowned. "I think some of the lyrics were off…"

"Don't be silly," Sticks walked over to Jade and sat next to her, slapping her lightly on the back. "The song was great. _Soaring_ is just the more well-known one. By the end of the song they were louder."

"Were they?" Jade questioned.

"Definitely," Bethany nodded. Then her expression changed slightly and her eyes stared at a spot on the wall between Jade and Sticks' shoulders. "…Kingsley'll be so jealous that we got to perform on the stage he wanted to…"

"He'd be proud, Bethany," Murphy said confidently. "I bet he was there in the crowd, applauding you."

"…I hope so…" Bethany's voice was quiet, clearly thinking back on deceased Kingsley Newport. "…We planned to perform here when it was just the two of us… before we had a name, before we had a band, before we had you guys…" Bethany looked at the three band members and couldn't help but think Murphy had been correct. Kingsley would definitely have been proud of what the band had become. Both Murphy and Sticks, of course, had been recruited while Kingsley was still alive but Jade had come in after. Once they broke international everyone had improved so amazingly. They were famous – not just wannabe rock musicians but actual bonafide rock stars. A shiver of slight grief ran through Bethany's spine that Kingsley couldn't be on the stage with her when a sudden yell sent her twisting towards Jade.

"Oh my god!" Jade's mouth was wide open as she looked at Bethany with even wider eyes.

"What is it?" Bethany felt panic quickly rise up at Jade's tone.

"You and Kingsley were _together_ , weren't you!?"

Bethany slowly blinked at Jade, mouth agape. Murphy and Sticks exchanged a look. Then all three of them burst out laughing. Sticks actually fell off the bed and splashed the lager all over himself but he just tore off his shirt and threw it against the wall, clutching his stomach. Murphy, of all people, had his arm over his face in an attempt to stifle the laughter and Bethany's shoulders were shaking, the laughter merciless and completely unexpected.

"What!?" Jade demanded, looking at all three of them. "What did I say?! Murphy, come on, you too?"

Murphy managed to gain control and adjusted his shades, looking at Jade. "You… may… not necessarily be the sharpest tool in the shed, Jade."

"I thought _I_ was supposed to be the band's fool!" Sticks guffawed and climbed back onto the bed, throwing an arm around Jade's shoulders. It seemed he had managed to get through three cans without anyone realising and it was clearly going to his head.

"Bethany?" Jade looked between all three of them, completely lost. "Why was that so funny?"

"Of course we were together, Jade," Bethany said. "How did you not realise that?"

A faint blush quickly rose to the youngest member of the band's cheeks. "I… well, I thought you were just good friends…"

"VERY good friends," Sticks grinned.

"Five years in the band and you never even realised," Bethany shook her head. "Jade, Jade, Jade… sometimes I forget quite how young you are."

"I'm not young!" Jade replied indignantly. "I'm twenty-one!"

All the laughter finally settled and Bethany smiled softly at Jade. "Kingsley and I loved each other, Jade. Remember that argument we had, ages ago? Back in Eastbourne?"

Jade frowned. She _did_ remember. It had been quite the flaring of emotions between Jade and Bethany and resulted in a number of things said that the two had regretted. "Yeah…"

"That was why I was so… upset… so… reluctant, to change how we did things," Bethany explained. "Kingsley was—is—my world and the idea of changing how he had envisioned the band was… difficult to experience. Clearly, it was for the better," Bethany nodded at Jade. "Thanks to you. If it hadn't been for your desire to go with change then we wouldn't be here. I mean…" The mood shifted slightly and Bethany's smile faded. "…the fact that you decided to continue after what happened with you… You could have easily left. We wouldn't have blamed you."

"Well, that was that and it's over," Jade shivered slightly. She didn't like to remember the hospital, the fire, remember the fact that she had that god-awful stuff in her veins.

"…You still don't want to talk about it?" Bethany asked tentatively.

"No," Jade replied firmly.

Bethany just nodded. All three of them had tried to get the story out of Jade but she had remained surprisingly tight-lipped. All Bethany, Murphy, and Sticks knew about what happened in Eastbourne was what Ruby Ascot and Paige Calloway had told them in that tent. The things they said… it had been unbelievable. None of them had certainly taken it serious after the two of them had finished. Jade had consented to leave her number and then the two of them had left. Then something had happened to Jade at the college and then at the hospital. The explosions had left the Skyhawks completely worried about Jade as Jade hadn't called until after the fact, something Bethany still hadn't forgiven her for. IF something had happened to Jade… Bethany wasn't sure how she would have reacted if she heard Jade had been killed.

But something _had_ happened, only Bethany didn't know what. Since that day when the explosions tore through Eastbourne, Jade had changed. It was like she had been hiding something yet her singing had somehow grew… better… more meaningful. Over the course of the year following the explosions she had come up with brilliant songs. Sad, bitter, melancholy… but brilliant.

The awkward silence was suddenly broken by the sharp tones of Jade's phone. Keen on any avoidance of the subject matter, Jade quickly took it out but didn't recognise the number. Eager to distract herself, though, Jade answered. "This is Jade Skysong. Who's this?"

Bethany watched Jade's expression change slightly.

"What kind of name is Siddharth!?" Jade responded to whoever was on the other end. As blunt and rude as ever, Bethany had to smile. Definitely a rebel. Definitely a rock-star. "Yeah, well, what do you want?" Jade quickly looked around the room. "Sure, I'm in private. Look, I'm gonna hang up if this isn't anything—"

Then Jade paused. She listened for a long moment then her eyes narrowed and she stood up, all celebration of the previous concert gone. Jade turned her back on the band to face the hotel room wall. " _What_?" Jade hissed. Once again she listened and this time it was for nearly five minutes. Then abruptly Jade threw the phone against the bed, her face covered in absolute fury. Her shoulders were heaving and her fists were squeezing open and closed.

"…Jade?" Bethany stood up and approached Jade. Murphy's expression was hidden under his shades while Sticks' quickly sobered up, his expression confused at Jade's sudden anger. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" Jade snapped then immediately closed her eyes. "…Sorry. Nothing… Nothing is wrong…"

"It doesn't seem like it. What got you so angry?"

"Wrong number," Jade quickly replied.

Bethany sighed. Here it was again. The secret keeping. "A wrong number who gives you a name and asks if you are in private? A wrong number that you listen to for five minutes? Jade… c'mon now…"

"It's…" Jade took a deep breath. "Just lay off, alright?"

"No," Bethany said firmly – perhaps a bit too firmly – and stood closer to Jade.

"Guys…" Sticks looked between them, perhaps fearing an argument. It seemed as if Murphy had the same worry as he had straightened up and looked ready to dive in at a moment's notice.

"I'm not saying you have to tell us," Bethany said slowly as she tried to decipher Jade's expression. Jade refused to meet her eye but otherwise didn't move away. "But you are our family, Jade. Your problems… they're our problems. Something that can get you _this_ angry is going to affect the band and we don't need that. We're on the middle of tour. We have to go to Berlin tomorrow and we need to be in top shape."

Jade opened her mouth as if to say something then closed it again. She finally looked at Bethany and Bethany was surprised to see something very peculiar in Jade's expression. It was worry – worry directed at Bethany herself. Bethany had never seen Jade so… vulnerable. Jade struggled to find the words and finally gave up, sitting back on the bed. She opened her mouth again but once more Jade shut it, clenching her teeth together. She ran a hand through her hair and tugged lightly at the braid at the back of her hair, clearly nervous about something.

Bethany, Murphy, and Sticks remained quiet, letting Jade get whatever was in her system out. Jade stood up again, paced around the room, paused, looked to Bethany to open her mouth, shut it once more and then without warning suddenly twisted around and threw her fist as hard as she could into the wooden door. "FUCK!"

The sound reverberated and made the other three members of the Miracle Skyhawks flinch. Jade pulled her fist away from the door and a small dribble of blood slid down her knuckles but Jade didn't seem to care or even notice. She looked at Bethany. "…Bethany…" Jade's voice cracked and she shut her eyes tightly. Then her shoulders lost all tension and Jade slid down the door onto her rear, looking completely and utterly defeated. Bethany, nor Sticks or Murphy, could make heads or tails of her sudden change in demeanour.

"…Back in Eastbourne…" Jade's voice was resigned, defeated. "…When Ruby and Paige visited us… and told us that tale… it was true." Jade shook her head. "It was all true. Every bloody word of it."

"…About that List thing?" Sticks ventured to speak first.

"Yeah."

"…And that talk about Death? And that you were in danger?"

"Yes, Sticks!" For a moment her anger flared but then disappeared, quenched by her other emotions. "…Yes… I… at college… I nearly… there was a lightning strike and… I nearly died. I was saved and it was then I realised that what they said was true. That I was on a List. So I wound up at that hospital and…" The sound of Jade's teeth grounding together was the only sound that could be heard as she paused. "…The only reason I am not on that List that they were talking about… the only reason I am here right now… is because of this substance, this liquid, called Nectar…" Jade held her arm out in front of her. "It prevents me from dying. It heals my injuries. It's…" Jade sighed and shook her head. "Well, that put me off that List and I got out of that hospital. I just wanted to forget about it."

Bethany tried to comprehend what Jade was saying. Nectar? Preventing her from dying? But there was only one reason that Bethany could think of why Jade's emotions had suddenly spiralled from that phone call. She stepped towards Jade and dropped to one knee, looking her friend in the eye. "Jade… Are… Are you back on one of these… Lists?"

Jade shook her head. "No…" Then her voice cracked and Bethany was surprised to see tears running down Jade's cheeks. "You are."

The silence that reigned around the room stood for long minutes before Bethany gave a weak kind of chuckle and shrugged. "Well, get some of this nectar and then we'll be good—"

"Stop it," Jade said firmly but quietly. She stood up and walked over to the bar where the mini-fridge was standing. "You don't believe me."

"Jade…"

"It's fine. It's unbelievable. Just like you, I didn't believe it back when Ruby and Paige told us about it in the first place. I didn't believe it when Jeffrey talked to me at the school. It was only when I saw the proof with my own eyes that I believed it." Jade reached behind the bar and pulled out a knife that was used for cutting fruit for cocktails. It was small, gleaming, and definitely sharp. "So you need proof."

Without warning Jade suddenly thrust the small knife into her forearm. Blood blossomed forth in a surge as Jade wrenched the knife back and forth, tearing into the skin and muscle. The blood cascaded down her sleeve and fingertips, dripping on the carpet of the floor.

"Jade!?" Bethany was quick to dive towards Jade, Murphy and Sticks in tow. Murphy grabbed the hand with the knife and wrenched it aside, letting the knife clatter to the floor. Sticks grabbed Jade's other arm and all three of them peered at the wound. Jade had been merciless and the wound was ragged and Bethany could sweat she could see a glimpse of bone hidden in the sinew.

Then… unbelievably… something changed. The wound seemed to be… moving? Bethany, Murphy, and Sticks watched, transfixed, as the skin on Jade's arm seemed to stitch itself back together. Then all that was left was the blood staining her arm and carpet. Bethany ran a finger over the wound but there was nothing there… only smooth skin.

"…Wow…" Sticks' was absolutely astonished.

"Unbelievable," Murphy whispered.

"Jade?" Bethany looked from the wound to Jade's pale face. It was clear. What Jade had said was the truth. There was no doubt about it; the fact that she had somehow healed as if she had some kind of superpower… if _that_ was true, then the List was true, death was true, and… the fact that Bethany herself was on a List… that was true.

"…In order to save you, we have to work with this Siddharth, the man who phoned me…" Jade stared into Bethany's eyes. "He is with the visionary and is driving towards Cologne to get another survivor. He wants us to go to… to Berlin… he's arranging everyone on the List to meet up there."

"Well…" Bethany gave a weak kind of chuckle. "We're leaving tomorrow morning for Berlin so…"

"As soon as possible." Jade said simply. "Now. We have to go, Bethany, the two of us need to go to Berlin to find—"

"Woah, woah, woah, the two of you?" Sticks immediately shook his head. "No way, José, Jade. You and Bethany are our sisters. We're coming with."

Murphy nodded. "Don't fight it. We're coming and that's the end of it."

"…Fine," Jade accepted defeat, knowing it would be useless to fight them. "But as I was saying, this Siddharth finds us to find a professor in Berlin, get him persuaded about the List. I… There's a time limit, apparently, before the List starts in earnest and… well, that's why we have to leave now…" Jade finally broke her gaze from Bethany's. "…I'm sorry…" Jade murmured. "…I know… that we can't solve this the way that it was solved in Eastbourne… I… I hope this Siddharth has a plan because… Bethany, I-I… I can't bear to lose you, I can't…"

Bethany drew in a long breath and knew that she had to be the strong one here. There was a part of her, deep in her heart, that was screaming. If the things Ruby and Paige had told them all those years ago in Eastbourne were true, and if it were happening again, Bethany knew that chances were not the best in the world. Nevertheless she kept them hidden away and put a hand on Jade's shoulder. "You won't," Bethany said firmly. "If we're going to leave as soon as possible then we ought to get things going." Bethany turned to Murphy. "Can you phone Norman? We're gonna have to cancel the tour."

"He won't be happy," Murphy said.

"He's gonna have to accept it.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Spin your magic. Play the sob story. Say… Hmm… Norman's always been a hard nut to crack." Then Bethany nodded. "Tell him I just found out about an illness. A threatening illness, possibly fatal. Hell, go for cancer or something if you need to." Bethany turned to Sticks. "Get some takeout for us that we can take on the road, Sticks. We need to eat and drink something. We all need some energy if we're to be having no rest." Then she turned back to Jade and firmly held her shoulder. "Jade, help me pack up, okay? Be strong like I know you can be. All we need to think about is moving forward. Do not look anywhere other than one step away."

Jade looked at Bethany, amazed that she had managed to stay so strong. Then she shook herself out of her reverie and nodded. "Yes, of course." _Bethany is right,_ Jade thought to herself. _We'll make it. We have to. I'll make sure of it!_


	23. Strangers in the Dark

**Chapter Twenty**

 **Strangers in the Dark**

 _Cologne, Germany_

 _22:20 CET_

 _11 Hours Remaining_

Checking the face of her watch with glowed luminously in the dark night, Jenna Weissler clicked her tongue in annoyance. She strode with purpose, the sweat on her face gleaming every time she walked under a street lamp. She was dressed in jogging shorts and zip-up jacket with luminous stripes but had long ceased jogging. Jenna should have been back home at ten on the dot but had managed to take a wrong turn somewhere down the line and ended up in Merheim, further North than her home at Porz.

She was irritated that she hadn't realised that she was off course until long after the fact, though Jenna supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Her mind had been fully distracted by the information she had received only that afternoon when she had finished for the day at college. It had been gnawing her all day since and she just had to go out for a jog – usually she would head out in the morning – even though it was dark. The attempt to clear her mind had only fuelled it to get even more active.

Jenna had been contacted by two representatives of an official tennis club who had heard of her skills and wanted to sign her for a tennis team that would take her all over Germany. On the one hand, Jenna was absolutely gleeful at this news. Tennis had been her life for, well, all of her life and for her to be recognised by two of the most well-known club managers of the European tennis world sent shivers up her spine… but on the other hand, Jenna was extremely worried. If she took this invitation that would mean leaving her home and that would also mean leaving her sister.

Wanda Weisler was air-headed at the best of times and required Jenna's complete attention to ensure she didn't get into trouble. While capable enough at home, enjoying cooking and drawing, Wanda just could not interact with the outside world without getting into some kind of mischief. Jenna had once caught Wanda wandering away from home to play cards with a bunch of dangerous looking men and another time had found her eating her lunch on the side of one of the bridge's that extended over the river Rhine.

That was what had been twisting Jenna's mind over and over. The choice between following her dreams and caring for her sister; She wanted both but it would be impossible to take Wanda with her but she couldn't just give up on her tennis dreams either.

Jenna wanted to stand on the best courts in the world, in front of the biggest crowds. She wanted to perform against the greatest and prove that dreams _could_ come real if you tried hard enough. She had never expected her biggest hurdle would be her own sister…

Jenna suddenly stopped and looked around before smiling. She recognised this street and it wasn't too far away from home. She quickly turned down one of the streets, continuing to think about the conundrum presented before her.

A sudden wolf whistle broke through her thoughts and the quiet of the street. Jenna's head snapped up and she peered around behind her where she spotted three men around her age wearing hoodies and drunken grins. Jenna frowned and realised that the street she had chosen to walk through had been one lined with warehouses and storage units. It wasn't a residential district by any stretch of the imagination.

"Hallo! Schöne Beine!" One of the boys called, whistling again. Jenna quickened her pace slightly. She wasn't scared of people like them but the fact of the matter was that it was the middle of the night and there were three of them. Anyone would feel wary. She heard them laughing behind her and heard their steps quicken as well, echoing over the empty street.

Jenna decided to turn down an alley and cut through the warehouses towards the river, where she knew the roads would be slightly busier even though it was night and there was more of a chance of people being around. As she turned, she realised how much of a mistake that had been. The alley she had chosen ended in a dead-end where a large metal door sat. It must have been an access route into one of the warehouses.

Turning on her heel, Jenna hoped to quickly get out of the alley but the three men had already rounded the corner and smiled gleefully at her. She could practically smell the alcohol on them from here. One of them was swaying back and forth, clearly the drunkest of the three.

"Mädchen, wir wollen nur reden ... ehrlich," one of them said with a grin that looked straight out of a hyena's mouth. Jenna tensed and reached to one of the loose pockets of her backpack and felt the familiar metal tube. She slipped the small tube out of the pocket and held it tightly in her hand. It seemed none of the drunken men had realised what she had just taken from the pocket.

"Lass mich vorbei!" Jenna demanded, forcing herself to stand straighter and put courage into her voice.

"Sie ist zuversichtlich, ich mag es!" The apparent leader of the gang of three chuckled and got closer to Jenna. He raised his hand and reached towards Jenna and Jenna felt survival instinct suddenly take over. She raised her hand and pushed down on the nozzle of the pepper spray she held, letting the liquid spurt out and splash directly against the man's face.

The man screamed in pain and recoiled, clutching his eyes that had immediately puffed up and turned wet. Jenna took off at a sprint, sliding around the two other men as they reacted slowly. However one of them managed to hook their fingers around Jenna's bag. The force took Jenna off her feet and she was roughly pushed back into the arms of the man. They wrapped around her and Jenna could _definitely_ smell the alcohol now. Jenna tried to break out of the man's grip but it was surprisingly strong. She heard his breathing quicken and felt her panic rising.

She wiggled and writhed and felt the bag loosen. Seeing the opportunity she quickly pulled her legs out from under her. The man managed to keep hold of her but Jenna felt the bag tug slightly and cause the man's grip to loosen slightly. It was enough for Jenna to reach up, unclip the backpack, and let it fall off her back in order to get completely free of the man's grip. She sprinted as fast as she could, years of training on sports fields kicking in as she turned out of the alley and ran down the road. Jenna could hear the men yelling and screaming but gave them no regard as she ran.

Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins as Jenna skidded to a halt by the main road. There was no sign of the three men and Jenna allowed herself some relief, leaning on the fence. She had to admit, she had been scared for a little bit there. When the man had grabbed her… Jenna shivered. She also knew that she should call the police. There had been a number of attacks of young women recently in Cologne and the police still couldn't find the perpetrators. Perhaps those three men were just who they were looking for.

"Scheiße!" Jenna suddenly cursed. Her phone, along with her wallet and a few other valuables, were in her bag. She looked around the road, knowing there was nothing more she could do. She was a few blocks away from her home now, Jenna knew, and set off, wishing that she had never chosen to go out in the first place.

* * *

 _Berlin, Germany_

 _22:45 CET_

Professor Johann Schneider sat in the small living room with a glass of water sitting undrunk on the table in front of him. Jäger was sitting at his feet, relaxing with his head on his paws. Johann looked down at the deerhound and wished it was as easy for him to relax.

He and Jäger had arrived at his home in Berlin over half an hour ago and Johann had intended to immediately settle down for the night until the morning when he would be able to contact the funeral home and start making preparations for Sofie's… Johann frowned. He still found it hard to think that she was gone. Yet when he had laid himself in the bed Johann realised that he would not be able to sleep at all. Even though he had been away since early morning and had taken a long drive from Gothenburg, there was no way he could sleep.

"Also was soll ich machen, Jäger?" Johan murmured, reaching down to stroke the groove between Jäger's ear and skull. Jäger made a small whine in his sleep and fell to his side, stretching his great legs out in front of him. It looked like the deerhound was completely out of it. Johann frowned and stood up slowly. "Bleib hier, Jäger. Ich werde bald zurück sein."

Once Jäger was asleep, Johann knew it would take nothing less than a riot to get him to wake up again. Jäger was old, after all, and much like Johann, they enjoyed their beauty sleeps. Johann gently padded out of the living room of his small home, pulled his jacket back over his shoulders, and left the house.

Johann wasn't certain why he had left the house or even where he was going as he walked through the quiet neighbourhood. His was one of many modest housing as Johann's parents had never had quite enough money to get a bigger place. But to Johann it did not matter what it was; it was home and that was enough. The neighbourhood was as familiar to Johann as his own body and it wasn't until he finally realised where he was walking.

It was a place he had visited many times and Johann stood in front of her house, staring at the darkened windows. Sofie's home… So often filled with the smell of fruitcake and coffee, with pictures of her most friendly students and vital moments in her life. Johann knew the pictures on Sofie's walls told any visitors of her life… it was just a shame that Sofie never did have many visitors.

Then a rumble of guilt extended up Johann's body and he clutched at his chest from the surprising feeling. It had been nearly a year since Johann had contacted Sofie, he realised in shock. He had been so engaged up at Gothenburg that the months had passed by quickly. Would Sofie have thought that he forgot about her? Surely not yet… yet… Johann let out a sigh. A year was a long time and now Sofie was gone. What was the last thing they had talked about? Johann strained to remember and was ashamed to realise that he couldn't remember. It had simply been a friendly conversation, nothing of particular import.

"…Sofie…" Johann murmured and felt his eyes grow hot. He hadn't dwelt on the grief of learning of her death much at all. He had concentrated on driving on his way over but now… now that he was here, now that he was looking at the house, it all gathered up together and pierced his heart. Strangely, Johann wondered what would happen to her house and her belongings. He supposed that her possessions would be donated to charity shops around the city and for Johann he couldn't think of anything sadder. To think of all of Sofie's little trinkets simply sitting on a shelf, unloved and uncared for.

Then something caught Johann's eye. Something about the house had changed and Johann wasn't certain what that something was until he focused on a small little square of a window at the top of the house that he knew was the bathroom. The light was on!

"Was...?" Johann muttered and then felt a different emotion rising in his chest; a different, foreign emotion. Anger. Johann rarely ever felt anger but seeing that light on meant one thing – there was someone in Sofie's house. Sofie didn't have any family or anyone who would have any reason to be in her house at this time of night. That meant that it was likely a squatter and Johann knew that it wasn't particularly uncommon for the homeless to find houses that don't belong to anyone anymore and take full advantage until the houses were sold off. How dare they disrespect Sofie, so soon after her death.

Johann marched directly through the front gate and over the cobbles, stopping at the door and giving a sharp rack on the door. He would give whoever it was a piece of his mind. Perhaps it was simply an excuse to let off his emotions on something but Johann needed relief. He was always so calm, so methodical, that when an emotion struck him particularly strongly it would take a lot to make it disappear again.

It took so long that Johann had half a mind to get the key hiding under the third rock in on the left before there was the click of the lock and the door opened. Johann took in a deep breath, preparing himself to give this invader of Sofie's privacy a piece of his mind…

…And then Johann's breath let out in a short, sharp gasp.

Sofie Weber stood in the doorway, elderly, wrinkled, bowed, but otherwise looking completely and utterly healthy.


	24. Truths and Lies

**Chapter Twenty-One**

 **Truths and Lies**

 _Banbury, England_

 _22:16 GMT_

 _10 Hours Remaining_

Leslie Carlson slammed the stall of the bathroom closed, trembles running up and down his spine. His breathing was erratic as he leaned both hands on the door, his forehead touching the graffiti-ridden paint. He closed his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of the panic but that seemed to only make it worse as flashes of his imminent demise – he was laying crushed under a slab of car, he was laying twisted on the road, he was submerged deep in water – each image was so vivid that Leslie let out an involuntary sob, collapsing to the floor of the grimy bathroom, pulling his knees up and hugging them close with his back against the toilet.

Somehow, someway, he had managed to keep this feeling quelled ever since he had left Eastbourne with those three strangers. He had wanted Ruby to come with them so that he had a familiar face but Ruby had to deal with a situation regarding that other survivor from the Purple Pike, Isabella. So he had gone with Tanzi, Axel, and Jamie and the thrill of adventure had sustained him for a while. He had never been out of Eastbourne and there were something strangely enticing about the three strangers yet after a couple of hours he had started to feel almost claustrophobic.

It was a relief when Tanzi had called the car to a stop so they could get something to eat at a twenty-four hour fast food restaurant and Leslie had practically sprinted to the bathroom with a hurried excuse of relieving himself.

It was too much; Leslie could feel it crawling up his neck. They had explained it to him patiently, all about Death and this List and how they had to stop it else they would be claimed, one by one. Ruby and Tanzi had assured him that they would do their best but what was their best? Their best wasn't a guarantee and Leslie had no desire to be close to death again.

The shudders grew worse and his feet made a manic tune on the floor as Leslie clutched himself tighter. He could remember the darkness of being crushed under those rocks, his parents' lifeless bodies above him. He could remember thinking that this was it, that he was going to die, that he wouldn't even make it past childhood… and then there she was, the one shining beacon in his life. Ruby Ascot…

Seeing her smiling face in his mind Leslie slowly managed to control himself. The shaking subsided and he breathed slowly, in then out. He swept his hair back and reached for the mobile in his jacket pocket. That was what Leslie needed; Ruby. Despite the fact it was so late, Leslie knew that Ruby would still be awake.

The tone only rang two times before Ruby picked up, her voice alert, "Leslie? What's wrong?"

"…Hah…" Hearing her voice sent the remaining panic out of his system and Leslie smiled. "…Nothing, nothing's wrong… I'm just glad to hear your voice…"

"Nothing's wrong?" Ruby repeated, unconvinced.

"Sorry for calling so late," Leslie diverted her enquiry with the apology.

"Don't worry about it, Leslie, you can call any time. When you're feeling worried or perhaps… getting panicked?" When Leslie didn't respond he heard a quick chuckle from Ruby over the phone. "I figured as much. Was it an attack?"

Leslie had to appreciate once more just how much Ruby knew him. They hadn't known each other for particularly long in the grand schemes of things but Ruby had always known the right things to say and when to say them. She always cared for him and she was his best friend. She knew that Leslie had a history of panic attacks and knew when Leslie was keeping something from her. "…Not a big one," Leslie said quietly. He didn't want to tell her how bad it had been.

"To be honest, Leslie, I'm surprised it took this long. That's good. It means you're dealing with what we've told you," Leslie heard her sigh. "Anyone would find it hard to deal with those truths…"

"How did you handle it, when you first found out?" Leslie asked.

"I… did my best to keep my smile going."

"Of course you did… you always do."

"Not always, Leslie. I have never, and I will never, fake my smile or my happiness. But there are times when even I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. Sometimes my thoughts can't help but go back to the horrible experiences of my life and I just want to do nothing but curl up and hide away from the world." Ruby paused for a moment, before asking, "Do you have the notebook I gave you on you?"

"Huh?" Leslie quickly patted down his jacket pocket and found the small notebook Ruby had handed to him before he had left Eastbourne. She had told him that it was what she had used to keep track of the List. Leslie hadn't a chance to look at it yet. "Yes, I got it."

"There should be a page earmarked. I want you to go to that page, Leslie."

Leslie did as Ruby asked him, flipping to the page and seeing a bunch of names. "…Lacey… Jay… were these the people involved last time?"

"Yes…. But flip back a page. I want you to read what is written on there. I'll stay on the phone, alright? Just read it."

"Okay," Leslie said and started reading the small scribbled words. As he read through the passage he found a small lump forming in his throat. The entry detailed how Ruby had an interview for a new job and how scared and worried she had felt being in a new town. The words explained how much she hated leaving London and had questioned whether it was the right thing to do. She didn't want to forget about the things that happened there, she wanted to use those experiences to shape her life, and move forward. Leslie read the last lines more than a couple of times, feeling a strange pain in his chest.

 _'I often think of going back but… at the end of the day, no one is left. There is nothing for me back in London. What use would going back have now? Nothing but memories of what I could have prevented, of what I could have changed, of how I would have saved them. Sabrina told me that I was too good to die… so I look forward. I have to. I_ _have_ _to.'_

"…I…" Leslie spoke but found it particularly hard to speak. He had never seen this side of Ruby before. She was always the optimist, always smiling and laughing and being the most positive person Leslie had ever seen.

"I was alone, Leslie, for a while after Sabrina's death. As much as I hated those feelings crept up on me so I figured the best thing to do would be to write down my feelings as honestly as I could. If you get time later, look at the previous pages. You'll see my feelings and thoughts ever since London. The point I wanted to make, Leslie, is for you to use that notebook. If you ever feel scared or angry and the feelings are too raw or too private to talk to anyone about, even me, then write it down. Just be honest with yourself and let it all spill out on the page. It worked wonders for me and I think it can work wonders for you, too."

"…I will…" was all Leslie could choke out.

"I'm glad. And Leslie… try to get to know Tanzi a bit more. She helped me more than I can say back then. She can help you too. I know it is hard with what you are going through but there are people who can help you – who want to help you. I hope you're feeling a little better now."

"I am."

"Call me whenever you like, no matter how late or how early…" Ruby's tone changed slightly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you. I owe Isabella as much help as I can give her…"

"I understand," Leslie said quietly. "Besides, Ruby, you've dealt with this two times before. You don't need to make it a third. Have a nice night, Ruby. Thanks for… for getting me back to normal."

"No problem. Goodnight, Leslie." Ruby hung up and Leslie slipped the phone back into his pocket, staring at the open notebook in front of him. Then he flipped it shut, put it back into his jacket, and stood up. There was no doubt the others would be wanting to know where he was. There was a time limit, after all, and they had to make it to Dublin as fast as possible.

* * *

 _Ch_ _â_ _tenois, France_

 _23:44_

"We need to tell her," Rose said as she concentrated on the dark road ahead of her, the beams of her Tepee lighting up the A31 extending in front. She had just spotted a sign for a resting point that would be coming up and found the words coming to her unbidden.

"Tell who what?" Siddharth asked from the back. He was drinking from an energy drink, his eyes lit up from the screen in front of him.

"Tell Sam the truth. The real truth. Not this half-assed truth we gave her."

"What do you mean?"

"That we're not with the DSI anymore and that I was the one who had the Vision."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No," Rose immediately replied with a sigh. She glanced in the wing mirror where she could see the front light of Sam's motorcycle – she had kept as close as possible to them throughout the journey so far so as not to lose them. "But I can't keep lying like this, Siddharth."

"…We've had this conversation," Siddharth said carefully. "We have to lie in order to save them."

"I don't think we do," Rose disagreed. "Sure, getting Professor Schneider and Marshall Mathers to come to Berlin was one thing… one terrible thing but a thing nevertheless. I can at least see that it was necessary to get them to go to Berlin. But Sam… She's with us now, isn't she?"

"She could just turn around if we told her the truth."

"…She could… and I think that's her right," Rose said slowly. "Look, the moment we met with Professor Schneider and Marshall we were going to explain to them exactly what was going on, right? So why don't we give Sam that same courtesy?"

Siddharth didn't reply for a moment. He looked at the dull lights flashing past before shaking his head and closing his laptop. "Rose… it's your prerogative but… we have to be _very_ careful. If we tell Sam the truth and she decides to leave she may not be able to keep quiet. The last thing we want is Evrard to know our approximate location. My distractions are working for the moment but the longer we drive, as the puzzle pieces start coming together, it's going to be sooner rather than later until he discovers our location. Can we trust Sam to keep her mouth shut?"

Rose took a moment before nodding. "I think we can… I _know_ we can. Sam is a careful person, you've seen that. If we warn her what could happen if she starts talking then I think she will keep it quiet."

"I trust in your choices, Rose. I can see the benefits of telling Sam the truth, as well. So make the choice you think is right."

Rose bit her lip for a moment. "I… Okay. Yes. I know what I have to do."

* * *

Leaning on her motorcycle at the resting point, Sam crossed her arms over her riding leathers. Her helmet was placed on the Harley's seat. She watched Siddharth and Rose climb out of the tepee; Siddharth muttered something to Rose and Rose shook her head. Then the two of them started to approach Sam.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, looking at them suspiciously. "Why did we stop?"

"I've been… thinking," Rose said looking uncomfortable. "Sam..." Rose closed her eyes and spoke the next words quickly. "We haven't been entirely truthful." Sam looked between Rose and Siddharth but didn't say a word. She wanted to see where this was going. Seeing that Sam wasn't going to say anything, Rose continued. "We told you of the DSI and that we worked for them but the fact is we _used_ to work for them. Siddharth and I, as well as our three other partners, Axel, Tanzi, and Jamie… we fled from a DSI facility because they wanted to prevent us from coming to save you survivors. This means that we're wanted by the DSI which could be potentially fatal… and Sam, the one who had the vision… well, that was me. It's just the five of us trying our best to save the survivors."

Rose went quiet and the silence remained for a long moment before Sam finally spoke. "…Is that all?"

"Of immediate interest. If you have any questions I'll answer them completely honestly."

"Honestly?" Sam licked her lips. "Je vois." The moment Rose had started speaking what she said was the truth, Sam had only one question that rose to her mind. It was a question that she now suspected the answer and depending on what Rose's reply was, it would change everything. "…I have only one… My mother. Was she truly on this Liste?" Sam looked directly at Rose and saw a pained expression looking back at her. Siddharth looked at Rose but Rose refused to look away from Sam until she replied quietly.

"…Not as far as we are aware, no. We… lied in order to convince you to come with us."

"…Bien sûr," Sam muttered before looking away into the dark trees lining the resting point. The two of them, Siddharth and Rose both, had lied to her. By all means she should be absolutely furious and be turning back around to go home but… but… While having spent not much time at all with the two of them, Sam felt like they were fundamentally good people, especially Rose Milano. "I…" Sam said slowly. "I… understand. Why you chose what you did. Merci. For telling me the truth."

If her mother was not on a List, then to Sam that meant what she had always feared. That her death had been truly, tragically, random. "I… am at fault, perhaps…" Sam continued. "…Allowing myself to latch onto the Liste as a reason for my mère's death." Sam frowned and looked at Rose again. "…I will not flee. I… I still care for my own life and I still want to help others, if I can." Sam stood a little closer to Rose. "But… Rose Milano… I hope that you are laying each truth on the table. If I find out that either of you are continuing your lies then I am terminé, finished. Understood?"

Rose nodded. "I understand. You will get nothing but the truth from us from now on."

"In that case, we shall continue on, oui? Time is ticking and we must reach Cologne as soon as possible."


	25. Interlude - Father and Son

**Interlude**

 **Father and Son**

Death was sitting with his legs crossed under the shadow of the small bridge crossing the River Seine, his robes drawing as many peculiar gazes as usual. His dark eyes were closed and for all intents and purposes he looked much like his namesake with how little he was moving.

As Zeina Morcos watched him from her seat on the bench, she couldn't help but wonder that if this was truly Death as he seemed to be, why did he need such a humanlike vessel? While he clearly breathed and spoke like a human, there was something distinctly inhuman about the dark body of Death. Zeina had never seen him eat, drink, or relieve himself. Zeina severely doubted that he wanted to blend in with humankind so why go to so much trouble?

Though in the time Zeina had spent with Death she had forged a suspicion. Perhaps this horrifying entity that had effectively taken her hostage used to be human? Perhaps Death taking the form of a man who dressed as if he were an Egyptian Merchant from ancient times was a form that he once walked around in at some point in the past. Though if this were true, did that mean Death was a title passed from hand-to-hand? Dying was something that happened to life throughout all of the Earth's history and ancient Egypt was only one step in a long history of humanity. Was there a Death before this one?

Zeina amused herself briefly with the idea of a caveman claiming his fellow men's souls before leaning forward slightly, staring more intently at this being sitting so much like a statue that people were starting to get a little closer as if he were merely some kind of evening street performer.

As a child, Zeina had been fascinated with ancient Egypt – after all, it was her birth right and her family name, Morcos, could be tracked all the way to Cleopatra's time. One of the reasons she had joined the Department of Supernatural Investigation was to find out more, especially after she had found out that ghosts were real. That had been an immense day for the DSI as an organization though it certainly seemed that the DSI's efforts were pointed elsewhere now. The DSI used to be, as the name suggested, about investigating the Supernatural. The rumours of old towns, of haunted mansions and ghost sightings, of possessions and demons and the occult, extending into myths and legends such as Egyptian or Greek. It used to be about finding the truth behind the unknown reality of humanity though now the DSI Board were more focused on this Doomsday Clock.

…The Doomsday Clock…

The clock had sped up years before and it had sent the DSI scrambling. The discovery of the rifts, the nectar, everything had seemed to be coming to a head and then… nothing. It had all sort of trailed away into yet another incident that couldn't be truly explained. Perhaps this man, this entity who claimed himself as Death, perhaps he was related to the Doomsday Clock. It would certainly make sense, as what else was more associated with Doomsday than the death of humanity? Could it have been coincidence?

The conversation Zeina had overheard back in Eastbourne seemed to prove otherwise.

* * *

" _The Oracle she spoke of, he is gone," Death said as he and Zeina stood in the middle of the first floor of the Belle Tout Lighthouse. They were standing over a figure that was sat cross-legged in the middle of the room with hair that ran vivid over parchment-like skin and hollow eye sockets. There was a single hole in the man's forehead and a small glimpse of a smile in the stretched out lips. It was almost like a smile of a child who refused to give his parents the truth. "He must have passed through my gates long ago."_

 _Zeina couldn't help but wonder why the body was in this state, almost mummified. By all accounts the body should have been rotted and gaseous if it had been here for as long as it seemed to have been here. Had Ruby Ascot lied to them about the Oracle or was she unaware of his death? If it was intentional then it was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. Zeina frowned, thinking back to Ruby and what had happened at the Purple Pike and what Death had done. He had brought back that girl behind the counter as easily as he had snuffed out her life. And what was going on with Ruby Ascot resisting the effects of Death itself? That made Zeina more confident that perhaps Death could be defeated. If there were people who could not be affected then Death was no more than a glorified ability user, surely._

 _"She did not lie to me," Death said as he slowly circled the body, taking the unspoken question from Zeina's mind. "No… she was ignorant of this fact." Death knelt down and put a hand on the dry, stretched cheek of the Oracle. "Not many die with an expression like this. In my experience, all men fear death. But this Oracle… he faced his fate with the courage of a pharaoh." Death trailed his hands up the cheek towards the hole in the Oracle's forehead. He actually seemed morose for a moment. "Some say a bullet to the head is a quick death, a merciful death, but it is not so. The spirit dies long after the body. The victim suffers, conscious even as the body dies. Disrupting the flow of spirit and soul severs the connection from here to beyond." Death straightened up and looked around the lighthouse, frowning. "Yet his spirit does not linger. He managed to pass my gates even though the connection was severed. I wish I could have met this Oracle."_

 _Zeina didn't say a word as Death started walking back to the front door. As time went on Death seemed to grow more and more… emotional, she supposed, would be the best way to explain it. He was less brash and more understanding. Perhaps that conversation with Ruby Ascot had gotten under his skin somewhat. After all, Death had claimed to have no knowledge of the List and that was something surprised Zeina. As per the orders of the Board of Directors, the DSI had long since stopped investigating Lists but Death always came hand-in-hand with them. Death certainly didn't seem the type to lie so that begged the question, if Death was not responsible for the worldwide phenomenon of the Lists, then who was?_

 _Zeina followed silently as Death left the Lighthouse and continued over the car park to the edge of a cliff. He peered down into the roiling waters and Zeina stood next to him, facing the dark waves._

 _"…I sense her…" Death said quietly, reaching a hand out to the waters. "A lingering scent… Paige Calloway was here. I know this."_

 _The wind suddenly picked up and a chill ran through Zeina's spine. She hugged herself tightly but was surprised to see Death had suddenly grown tense. His head snapped left and then right. Zeina watched as a strange smile suddenly appeared on the dark face of Death._

 _"…You contact me at last…" Death said into the very sky itself. "I am surprised it took you this long."_

 _The wind seemed to blow in response and the robes of Death were batted back and forth in a mix of grey and white._

 _"I am disappointed the seal is weakening," Death looked out into the waters. "Yet still, only on the cusp of land. You may have breached the coasts of humanity but you have not invaded their lands and you will not, as long as I exist to keep you in check."_

 _Zeina had the strange sensation that Death was speaking to the wind itself and watched closely._

 _"…You must have seen our daughter," Death spoke again, his voice carried away on the wind. "Where is she?" Whatever response Death seemed to hear he didn't seem amused. "Do not hold grudges. If I do not teach her of the truths she holds, then who shall? You, trapped as you are?" Death shook his head. "You have lost contact with her, this I know. She has visited the realm in between and as such has severed that connection you held over her. I do not envy her – your tongue is venom in the ears of innocents. So tell me where she has gone and perhaps I will deign to let you meet your children when the time is right."_

 _The wind blew harsher as if it were angry before Death finally nodded. "I see." He peered out into the encroaching darkness of the horizon. "With the children of the Oracle? Interesting. I shall travel there immediately. Thank you for your… cooperation." Death turned on his heel, his robes sweeping the air, and started walking down the hill away from the Belle Tout Lighthouse, beckoning Zeina to follow him._

* * *

So what had that conversation been about? Death had been speaking to the wind as if it were someone he actually knew. Zeina finally looked away from Death into the small road and wondered, not for the first time, just how many of the so-called truths of humanity were, in fact, false. As Zeina looked at the road she wondered if Death would notice if she disappeared. Paris was a big city and Zeina knew that the CEO of the Paris branch would be present…

…But she could not risk it. At simply a whim Death could take all of the lives of Paris without even considering it. His power was too great and Zeina knew that she had to take it very, very carefully. She had to follow him on his quest to find his children and figure out just what she was to do. Her use as a member of the DSI would only work in tandem with Death's intention for so long and Zeina had the distinct impression that once Death felt it necessary, her life would be snuffed out just like those in her own branch – a pain that still hadn't disappeared and likely never would.

A man suddenly sat down on the bench and bent down to do up his laces. Zeina gave him but a glance before looking back at the road.

"…The contract is still on…"

The voice was so quiet that Zeina had to take a moment to realise it was not her own thoughts. She looked out of the corner of her eye at the man on the bench, now fiddling with the other lace on his shoe. Zeina realised with a jolt who this person must be. "Are you with Talon?" Zeina whispered.

"The one you hired to dispatch of the target," the man replied as quietly as ever. "I have been watching. Talon does not accept failure and I shall not fail."

" _Stay_ watching," Zeina said firmly but quietly. "Contact the DSI, if you can."

"Negative. Talon does not work with the DSI. We simply want our payment when the target is down."

"This target will not fall to your bullets."

"Perhaps not. I will follow, as you follow, until the time is right. Talon does not fail their missions." Then the man stood up, stretched, and jogged away into the Paris night. Zeina couldn't help but wonder whether to be relieved or worried that Talon was still watching Death's progress. If they tried to assassinate him again, Zeina feared what Death would do in response. Zeina hoped they were intelligent enough to hang back until they knew more.

She turned back to Death and watched him again yet he didn't move for nearly half an hour until he suddenly shot to his feet with a strange expression on his face… was that, excitement? Death strode over towards Zeina just as two new strangers approached her bench. It was a boy and a girl, both looking as if they were in their twenties. The boy was wearing a cocky smile while the girl seemed calm and composed.

"Who are you?" Zeina asked as she stood up but neither the man or woman gave her the time of the day as they turned towards Death, who had reached the bench where Zeina was sitting. He came to a stop and stared at the young man and didn't say a word. After a moment it was the young man who spoke, hesitantly, the smile flickering.

"…Father?"

"Robert Yates…" Death murmured and Zeina was surprised, if not frightened, to see a gleam in Death's eyes that looked worryingly like a tear. "…My son."

The two looked at each other for another long moment before Death opened his arms and embraced Bobby Yates – an immensely odd scene considering Death's appearance. Death finally pulled away and clapped Bobby on the shoulder. "I have been tracking your presence but I was expecting to find Paige Calloway. It is… an immense pleasure to find you after all this time, Robert. I have watched you develop your knowledge and your abilities and I have been so proud of you."

"Thank you, father. Paige is not here but I do have good news. I know where she is and how to find her." Bobby Yates smiled widely. "We can finally reach our destinies, father!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:- As we open up to the penultimate act, I just wanted to say that I appreciate that the pace of the story is careful and composed, as of the moment. But trust me - when the countdown is finished and William Milano's death fires off the beacon of the List, Last Laugh is going to get hectic, fast, and deadly! I'm looking forward of what is to come, and I hope you are, as well.**_

 _ **As always, thank you for reading, and see you next time!**_


	26. Battle On The Borek Bridge

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

 **Battle on the Borek Bridge**

 _Outskirts of Borek, Poland_

 _01:20 CET_

 _8 Hours Remaining_

Marshall tapped his finger along to the tune from his CD Player, a best-selling hit from pure-country artist Charlie Walker, hailing from Marshall's own home state. His eyes were on the dark road, lit _very_ sporadically by gaunt lampposts; the plains on either side of the E30 were completely engulfed in darkness save for the occasional lights from a farmhouse or tiny village. The road was practically abandoned save for one motorcyclist who had been following the same trail for about an hour or so. Marshall didn't envy them – it was bound to be cold outside.

"… _Love ain't no wicked thing…_ " Marshall sang quietly under his breath along with the music as his finger continued to tap against the steering wheel. "... _It's simply misunderstood."_ Marshall glanced to the passenger seat of the van where Rob Winters was sitting, his body as taut as it had been when they had their little _conversation_ a while back. "Come on, kid, settle down a bit," Marshall said, finding the kid to be one of the most boring hostages he'd ever travelled with. "You showed a bit of spirit before, where is that now?"

"Chto tak…" Rob hastily corrected himself, his eyes darting fiercely at Marshall. "What would be the point?"

"Tch." Marshall clicked his tongue. "There's always a point to trying to escape. Always a point to trying to save your own life. You didn't even try to throw yourself out of the car when I went for a piss."

"…You'd just hurt me."

"True," Marshall shrugged. "But hey, it'd make this trip a damn sight more interesting."

Robert didn't respond and Marshall went back into silence, shaking his head. Boring, boring, boring… The promised pay better be good. Driving from Moscow to Berlin wasn't exactly Marshall's plan for a good time, especially when he hadn't had any sleep for nearly twenty hours. He started to hum along with the tune of ' _Broken Heart',_ another Charlie Walker classic, when Rob suddenly spoke.

"Why would you want me to try and escape? Should you not want me to be quiet?"

Happy that the boy was talking again, Marshall smiled and lounged back in his seat. "Here's the thing, kid, I ain't gonna kill ya. Sure, I'll hurt you, cut a few fingers off, but as of the moment this is just a simple kidnap job. I expect your father will be asked for a certain amount, he'll pay it, and then off you trot back home."

"He won't pay a ransom. Not for me." Marshall glanced to the boy's solemn expression.

"And why the hell wouldn't he?"

"He doesn't love me."

"One, bullshit, two, don't get all _woe-is-me_ on me, got it, kid? Every father loves their children."

Rob turned suddenly, emotion carved across his pale face. "He just throws lesson after lesson at me without thinking about what _I_ need, what _I_ want, where _I_ want to go. Chert!" Rob's chest was heaving after the short outburst and he looked sternly out of the window, the back of his head to Marshall.

"I ain't no psychologist but doing those things is your father's love. Sure, it may be misguided, and sure, you may hate it, but the fact is, kid, your father is one of the richest sons-of-guns in Moscow. The fact that he believes you can inherit his empire shouldn't be frowned on." Marshall looked back to the road. "You know what? My daddy wanted me to be a policeman. He was one himself, ya know? Not any kind of good one. Mostly just sat eating donuts while his partner did the work but hey, being a policeman? It sounded like my kind of job when I was your age.

"So, my daddy got me into classes, and then training, and lo-and-behold, lil' old Marshall became a policeman just like his Daddy. Being a policeman, especially in these times, especially in the good ol' USA, has its benefits. It had power. I could do what I want, when I wanted, and no one would look twice as long as I locked up the criminals. What if there was an extra bruise here, a couple of missing dollars there. The fact of the matter was, my daddy got me into that position and I _used_ that position to my benefit. The point of this story, kid, is that you can do your lessons and be a good little boy. Then, when you're a little older, you can buy the shares of the company, hell, with enough know-how you can buy the company. Then you can throw your father under the bus and use that money however you damn well like. You can go sailing, become an artist, do whatever the hell it is you want to do."

Marshall looked back to Rob and while he couldn't see his face in front of him he could see the very faintest of smiles in the reflection of the wing-mirror. "As long as my orders don't change you'll get home soon enough and can go about your daily business as you like."

Rob turned, his face stricken with fear again. "What if your orders change? W-What if you're asked to k-kill me?"

"Then I'll kill ya, no skin off my back," Marshall said with his carefree smile. "See, the kind'a money I get doing what I do lets me buy whatever the hell I want. Women, drugs, booze, I can get it all. It's getting my hands dirty but how is it so different from what I did as a cop, huh? I just don't need to worry about as much red tape. But…" Marshall changed his tone as Rob started shaking in fear again, "don't panic. Chances are the orders won't change. I won't promise it, but I reckon you ain't gonna die, kid. So lighten up!" Marshall clapped a hand on Rob's tense shoulder before turning down a small road.

"Are we here?" Rob asked, surprised as the van trundled along the road.

"Berlin's still six hours away. Nah, I just got to check something. See, in my line of work, occasionally you follow people and occasionally they follow you. Now, first rule of trailing someone is to _never_ get up their ass." Marshall checked out the window and saw the motorcycle turn into the road as well. "Don't take any unnecessary risks. But hey, this could still be a coincidence." After a little while Marshall turned left again. Once again the motorcycle turned. "Strike three but they are not out yet. If you wanna confirm whether you're being followed, especially if you're followed by an amateur… just do a circle." Once again Marshall turned until he entered the A30 again. The motorcycle turned as well and continued to stay behind Marshall's van. "There we have it. We're being followed."

Marshall looked at Rob. "Now don't get all hopeful, kid. As much as I'm not gonna kill ya I'm sure as shit not gonna let you free. So sit tight while—" Something in the corner of Marshall's well-trained eye moved and he turned in his seat to see a second motorcycle heading straight for him in the centre of the road. He was already reaching for the silenced pistol under his coat as the first motorcycle started to overtake, getting side-by-side with the van. Marshall raised his pistol to the window as he saw two black items in each of the motorcyclist's hands.

Seeing these, Marshall changed tactic and shouted, "DUCK!" grabbing Rob's shoulder and forcefully pushing him down off his seat as a hail of bullets crashed into the van. Peppered holes popped into the siding of the van from the left, shattering the window as bullets soared over Marshall and Rob. The second motorcyclist had fired straight forward, shattering the windscreen and covering Marshall's seat in holes. From his crouched position, Marshall wrenched on the handbrake and reached up to spin the steering wheel at the same time.

There was suddenly a great lurch as the van tried to turn and brake at the same time. The weight of the van tipped and it crashed onto its side, sliding across the road in a shower of sparks, glass, and smoking bullets. There was suddenly the wrenching of metal as the van crashed into something and finally, mercifully, the van came to a stop.

Marshall instantly corrected his posture into a crouch, his pistol drawn and held with two hands. He heard a coughing and turned to Rob, who was upside down and bleeding from the forehead. Rob went to move but Marshall put a hand on his chest, stopping him. "Don't," Marshall whispered. "You could be injured and I sure as fuck don't need you outside of this car. Stay put." With that, Marshall took a breath and straightened up out of the side-window that was now facing up. He immediately did a full 360 but saw neither of the black motorcyclists though he saw both motorcycles. One was a mangled wreck, twisting among the roof of the van – a battle the van had clearly won. The other looked like it had been discarded quickly, lying on the road with the engine still running.

Quickly scampering out of the upturned van, he curled over the edge and landed with a faint thud on his boots with his back against the underside of the van, metal and glass crunching underneath his feet. He quickly scanned with his pistol again but there was no movement. The two were somewhere, Marshall knew, since there was not a body in the mess of a motorbike. Marshall had to question who they were. They didn't seem like the kind of people Robert Winters Senior would hire, especially shooting firearms at the van with his son in it, but the fact of the matter was that they had only shot at him, not Rob. Rob's seat had been completely avoided.

With this brief respite, Marshall scanned where he was. The terrain was as important as the firearm in his hand. He was a flat bridge crossing a small river, going by the faint tinkling noise. There were squat railings on either side of the bridge and another squat concrete railing that separated either side of the road. Marshall found that slightly strange as he was sure the second motorbike had been central to the road – it must have been trailing just next to the concrete railing.

This was good. It was a flat area with the only cover being the concrete railing and the van's wreckage itself. While it certainly wasn't ideal for Marshall that also meant it wasn't ideal for the enemies. Besides, the concrete wall looked too low for a figure of any height to hide behind it. Marshall took a deep breath and allowed his focus to kick in. While the other senses were as important, Marshall needed his hearing.

The most prominent sound was the trickling of the river. Not a big river, not a particular fast river but a river nevertheless. The short sharp breaths of Robert could be heard from inside the van. The boy would likely be in shock and starting to hyperventilate. Not as good. If the kid panicked and ventured out of the van that would put Marshall at a severe disadvantage. Playing protection was a lot harder than was needed. The whistle of the wind was thin and quiet and as Marshall had suspected, biting cold as it hit the skin of his cheeks.

Then the unmistakable crunch of a wary foot on broken metal.

Marshall acted instantly, whipping out from behind the van, taking a millisecond to point the silenced pistol at the approaching motorcyclist's head, and fired.

The bullet hit true – or would have, had the visor of the motorcyclists helmet not blocked the shot. Marshall took a moment to wonder what the helmet was made of – as a normal motorcycle helmet would not be able to stop a bullet, especially with the visor – before diving back behind the van as the motorcyclist lifted their hand and fired off what Marshall had now confirmed to be pitch black MP5's.

Had Marshall been a normal agent of the law, perhaps with the FBI, then he would have fallen for the pincer attack the motorcyclists had planned. Yet Marshall Mathers was not a normal agent of the law. Instead of cowering, as might have been expected, or diving out to shoot back at the first motorcyclist, as could have been planned, Marshall spun on his heel and rammed his shoulder as hard as he could into the approaching second motorcyclist. A male voice went, "Oof!" as the motorcyclist fell back to the floor, evidently surprised. Marshall grinned and pointed his pistol at the chest this time, knowing the helmets were bulletproof. He fired two shots and they sunk into the black-garbed chest of the motorcyclist.

Marshall cursed inwardly. He knew Kevlar when he saw it and a silencer wouldn't cut it to get through – nor would his pistol normally, either. Instead he took the advantage and leaped on top of the male motorcyclist like a jaguar leaping on its pray and pinned his arms down with his knees. Marshall immediately used one hand to wrench the bottom of the helmet up and stuck his pistol directly underneath, satisfied at feeling the flesh underneath with the barrel of his gun.

He fired into the bottom of the jaw of the motorcyclist and a red mist burst from inside the visor.

"Alpha!" A female voice. Marshall turned and at the same time used the body of the male motorcyclist, codenamed Alpha apparently, to shield himself. The woman had let her hand slip by letting her emotions of the death of her comrade get to her. Had she said nothing then perhaps she would have been able to pepper Marshall's back with gunshots – but instead her bullets sank into the back of her partner.

The woman, clearly in a rage, spent her bullets and Marshall was quick to take the advantage. He pushed up with his legs and kicked Alpha's body off of him as the woman frantically tried to reload. Marshall pounced and the woman clearly decided that dropping the gun was the better course of action. Marshall disagreed. She may have had time to reload but now it was too late – Marshall slammed his full body-weight onto the stocky woman and drove her to the floor, using his free arm to twist around her arm and pull it tightly into an armbar, pressing his legs on either side of her helmet to keep her pinned. He twisted his hand, pointed the pistol the thin line of exposed flesh on her neck, and fired…

Marshall watched the bullet hit the bridge, marking a small dent in the tarmac. It took him completely out for a moment that he had somehow missed and that moment was all it took for the woman to twist her hips and wriggle out of Marshall's loosened grip. The woman scrambled to her feet at the same time as Marshall who managed to regain his senses. He raised his pistol just as the woman strode forward.

Two shots rang out but two more small dents in the road pinged behind the woman yet there was no effect on the leather over her heart where Marshall had aimed. The woman spun her hips and threw a sharp kick towards Marshall's neck with amazing flexibility. Marshall raised his arm and blocked the blow, gritting his teeth. What was going on? He adjusted the position of his pistol but the woman slapped the gun out of his grip. The pistol clattered against the ground but Marshall was quick to move, hooking his now free hand over the woman's leg…

Only his hand slid straight through the black leather of the leg.

Marshall jumped back as if shocked, staring at his hand and then at the woman, confused. The woman straightened up and raised her fists, inviting Marshall in. Marshall raised his own arms and wouldn't take the bait. He didn't understand how he had managed to miss those shots or grab her leg but he certainly wasn't going to rush in.

The two stared each other down – Marshall's narrowed eyes looking at the visor of the motorcycle helmet with the dent his bullet had made – not moving at all.

The woman finally made the first move, taking a step in and throwing a punch Marshall's way. Marshall weaved with expertly trained precision, driving his fist towards her side in an attempt to wind her. But his fist once again somehow seemed to slide through her side. He stared at the point where his own black-clad wrist fused with her own hips. Marshall pulled away and raised his arm to stop a strike coming from his left, reacting more by instinct than by skill, still shocked at what was happening.

The woman sensed her opening and threw skilled punches at Marshall, coming from all directions. Left, right, under, over, but Marshall twisted his hips and arms, blocking and dodging all the incoming blows. He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he focused on defence before suddenly lashing out with a punch to the sternum. The woman leapt back, her hands raised tightly in guard. Marshall didn't pursue and once more the two fighters were at a stalemate.

The woman's breathing was ragged and Marshall knew he had the advantage. Being in that helmet could not make it easy to breathe and if she attempted to take it off then Marshall would dive in. Would she take the risk of being unable to breathe properly or would she take the risk of taking off her helmet? Either way, Marshall knew he held the advantage.

The woman decided to take her helmet off and reached quickly to the bottom of her helmet, lifting it. The moment she moved, Marshall moved. He took two long strides and flung his fist towards her – yet even as she took her helmet off she twisted her hips, spinning her heel towards Marshall's jaw. Marshall was ready for the attack having suspected this woman was a lot more skilled than he gave her credit for and weaved to the side, twisting to turn the punch into an elbow towards her own chin. The woman was already leaning back and Marshall's elbow flew over quite a beautiful face with mismatched eyes and flowing auburn hair. The woman straightened and attempted to throw a fist at Marshall but Marshall raised his hand and grabbed her smaller fist in the ball of his hand.

Marshall grinned down at the woman with almost wild glee. It had been so long since he had a fight like this. One of her eyes were bright blue while the other was a gleaming green. Marshall stared into them as he flicked his spare hand at his hip and pulled his penknife out, flipping it open with his thumb in one smooth movement and sending it towards her side with her hand still clenched in his own. The knife's blade flashed in the reflection of the flickering headlamps of the van before plunging right between the woman's ribcage.

The blade entered the black leather jacket but Marshall found his grip loosening. He glanced to his now clenched fist to see it was hovering inside the woman's fist as if both limbs were made of nothing but air. The hilt followed the blade until Marshall's hand followed suit, moving through the woman's body as if it were made of mist, taking him off balance. He stumbled forward – directly through the woman. He glimpsed the black leather before a flash of pale skin, then red, white, then black again until he was on the other side of her having apparently fallen through her as if she were nothing but a mirage.

Marshall turned but immediately stepped backwards as the woman sent another sharp jab his way. The back of his thighs bounced against something metallic and Marshall fought the urge to curse out loud. He had managed to hit the edge of the bridge; he could tell without even looking. The woman smiled a successful yet anger-stricken smile before twisting her hips to let fly another of her lethal kicks.

She did not expect Marshall to take the full force of the kick to his side. Marshall heard his ribs crack but the moment the foot made contact he reached forward and grabbed the collar of the woman with mismatched eyes, thrusting his head forward with so much force that both noses let out a horrifying _crack!_ The woman fell to the floor with a cry of pain as Marshall's shoulders heaved, his nose thumping as blood pumped out onto his chest. He held his ribs and looked down at the woman who was clearly defeated, dazed and her face covered in crimson blood.

"…The fuck… are you…?" Marshall gasped as he felt his ribs under his body-armour. _Yep, definitely broken_. The woman stared defiantly at him. Marshall spat bloody phlegm on the floor and jammed his foot down on the woman's leg, it didn't crack but it felt good. The woman screamed and Marshall looked down at her. "…Fuck if I care… Who do you work for? Why come… for me?"

The woman did not respond at all with those god-awful defiant eyes of her. Marshall felt a flare of anger run through his spine. The fuck was she doing, beaten as she was? Marshall had to figure out what the fuck she was and how to beat whatever the fuck it was she was doing and she disrespects him by just staring at him? "MY STRIKES WENT THROUGH YOU!" Marshall roared, blood spitting down at the woman. "THE FUCK ARE YOU!? WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!" Marshall thrust his hand out towards the woman, pointing at her, allowing his voice to quiet down to a deadly tone. "…You won't die easy. You'll tell me what I want to…"

There was a strange pain through Marshall's wrist and he stared wide-eyed as his hand seemed to fall away from his wrist.

"…when I'm…" Marshall's lips were still moving as he watched something strange appear in front of him like a phantom from out of nowhere. The body of a woman appeared between Marshall and the female motorcyclist. "…with you…" Marshall's eyes connected on the shotgun that was pointed right at his chest. Somehow, a woman had just appeared out of thin air. There was a razor thin machete in her left hand and the shotgun was in her right. Was this some kind of new camouflage technology? Marshall had no time to consider before the shotgun fired.

A mass of pellets slammed against Marshall's chest and he was thrown over the side of the bridge, blood spilling out of his amputated wrist. His mouth was open wide in shock before he crashed into the shallow water, falling still as water rushed over him.

* * *

"Ah…" Rob had been huddled in a foetal position as the gunfire and fighting swept over the bridge. There had just been a large shot and everything had gone quiet. He tentatively lifted his head just as a black-clad figure reached through the upturned front window and grabbed Rob roughly, pulling him from the wreckage of the van. Held like a kitten, Rob could only freeze in fear as he looked at the scene in front of him.

A woman with auburn hair was crouching over the motionless figure of one of the motorcyclist's, desperately clutching the body to her chest, her cries of, "Alpha… Alpha… Please no…" Rob turned away from the woman and the body of Alpha to look at his captor – a stern-looking man with silver hair and icy-blue eyes. He wasn't looking at Rob at all but was instead looking at another woman who was holding a shotgun and a machete at her hip. Rob almost threw up what little was in his stomach at the fact the woman was holding an amputated hand in her own.

There was no doubt the hand belonged to Marshall and Rob felt the strangest sensation that he would much prefer Marshall over these three strangers.

"It's shaking, Riddle," the woman said, throwing the hand through the air as if it were a softball. Rob's captor, Riddle, grabbed the hand and studied the watch that was slowly vibrating. He pulled the watch off the hand and threw the hand carelessly over his shoulder. Riddle looked at the watch for a moment before twisting the face clockwise experimentally. Then he twisted it anti-clockwise, frowned, and twisted it clockwise again. "Just a watch?" The woman asked just as a worried voice echoed out.

"Marshal? What happened? You've come to a stop."

Riddle considered for a moment before throwing Rob as if he were nothing but trash towards the woman with the shotgun. The woman caught Rob with equal disregard, watching Riddle intently. Then Riddle leaned forward and spoke with a voice that could only be Marshall Mathers… yet how? How could this man sound just like Marshall? He didn't look American but he was echoing Marshall's voice perfectly.

"The kid put up a fight," Riddle spoke in a perfect imitation of Marshall. "The van crashed. We're both fine."

"…Christ, I was worried."

"It's all good. I'll maintain radio silence. Sorry for the trouble," and then Riddle twisted the top of the watch again and slid it into his pocket. Then with a voice completely different he spoke to the woman holding Rob. "Rivera, get him in the car. We're done here."

"Of course," The woman said and started to tug Rob before a sudden shout echoed over the abandoned bridge.

"RIDDLE!" The woman who had been cradling the corpse was now striding over with venom in her face. "Evrard did not tell us the kidnapper was that skilled! This was supposed to be a simple snatch and grab! Alpha shouldn't be… He…" The blood made her voice garbled and the woman spat out a glob of blood. "…This was supposed to be simple…" she repeated under Riddle's intense gaze.

"The job is done," Riddle said with no sign that he cared at all for the loss of his comrade. "Let us go."

The engine revved and then a low black car almost invisible in the night drove away from the bridge, leaving behind the broken van, motorcycles, and corpse of the man named Alpha. The weapons that were left were unmarked and would not be able to be traced, nor was there any evidence that pointed to who Alpha was or who he worked for. As far as the authority's would understand, this would have been just another gang hit off the border of Poland – nothing, sadly enough, too strange.

* * *

The river tinkled along its path until there was a sudden splash and a hand grabbed the sodden dirt. Fingernails raked through, getting a hold before a body pulled itself out of the river, drenched, blood-soaked, and absolutely furious.

Marshall Mathers slowly straightened to his feet, clutching his amputated wrist tightly. No matter how much he held the wound blood poured down his chest – the armor of which was torn and shredded. Most pellets had torn through the layer of body-armour but had lost enough momentum that only a few had made it through the double-layed Kevlar vest Marshall always wore under his chest. Thank god for Lyona and her precautions.

"…FUCK!" Marshall roared, half delirious as he stumbled up the soft incline back up to the road. He tripped and fell into the dirt but pushed himself back up again. "Fuck, fuck…" He stumbled over to the tarmac and stumbled across the road to the concrete dividing barrier. Marshall's eyes flitted around wildly before focusing on the van. He pushed off of the barrier and fell harshly to his knees in front of the van's sideways front window to see that Rob was no-where to be seen. Marshall felt fire in his eyes and let out a roar, his voice echoing over the empty plains.

Then he saw his hand lying absurdly on the road and Marshall stood up to look down at it. The still calm part of his mind noted that his communicator watch was gone. He narrowed his eyes and realised that the vehicle they had used to escape was heading the way he had been originally heading. This confirmed it – they weren't hired by Rob's father – they were some kind of third party who were likely heading to Berlin as they had taken Marshall's watch. Who they were, why they had such strange abilities, Marshall couldn't guess.

"…Superpowers… heh…" Marshall muttered as he kicked his hand away and approached the still running motorcycle that was vibrating against the floor, discarded. The wheel arch was busted and the prongs of the tire were bent – there was no way he would be using the motorcycle to escape but Marshall hadn't thought about that at all. Instead he raised his blood-soaked stub and without hesitation plunged it down onto the overheating engine.

The scream that followed was even louder, echoing further across the plains.

Marshall fell back, clutching the now black stub of his hand. He shoulders were heaving and his breathing was rigid and untidy. Nevertheless he tore the torn body-armour off his chest with his hand and held the rags in front of him. By the grace of some kind of god, a faint blue vial was still sitting in its hidden holster on the inside of the body-armour, untouched by the pellets. Marshall pulled the blue vial and cast the body-armour aside.

For a moment he stared at the blue vial, his breathing growing more and more uneven. This was to be used only in the most dire situations, Marshall had been warned by Ryona, and taking it would put a great risk on the owner.

Twenty-four hours of adrenaline at the cost of a massive come-down afterwards. It was supposed to be used to escape a potentially agency-breaking mission. A normal man would likely full unconscious after such a come-down and Marshall suspected his chances weren't exactly great with the condition his body was in, nevertheless he _never_ failed a mission… and he owed the bastards who attacked him a rematch.

He flicked the cork off the vial with his thumb and downed the whole vial. Marshall threw the vial to the side, allowing the glass to shatter, before closing his eyes. His breathing grew more even and he felt his muscles loosen.

"…Hah..." Marshall let out a long sigh and got up to his feet, a flicker of blue running through his eyes. Then he started jogging, following the E30 towards Berlin, the expression on his face strangely calm and set in stone. He would not let these bastards take his quarry.


	27. Fascination

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

 **Fascination**

 _Berlin, Germany_

 _02:46 CET_

 _7 Hours Remaining_

"This is the place," Jade looked up from her phone, glancing to Bethany who was driving the van that had travelled the world with them. The midnight purple van had seen as many adventures as the band's members themselves and was almost considered a fifth member of the band by Bethany. She and Kingsley had brought the worn down old Chevy at a scrapyard when they had decided they needed somewhere to live after leaving both of their jobs to pursue their musical dreams.

Kingsley had spent nearly a week fixing the old girl up, painting her with an almost obsessive compulsive need. Bethany had designed the logo herself – a hawk rising from the flames – and Kingsley had painted it onto the side of the van. She and Kingsley had shared so many memories here when they were living on nothing more than pennies earned from performing on the streets. Nothing had been as comfortable as sleeping on the floor of the Chevy with Kingsley at her side or had made her as happy as when she and Kingsley sat trying to work out their next song…

"Bethany?"

Bethany blinked and focused back in on Jade. She had absently pulled the van to the side of the road but had allowed herself to fall back into memories with Kingsley – memories that had been coming unbidden throughout the whole journey – or more accurately when she had been informed of her role in this List. "What's the plan?" Bethany asked.

"Knock on the door, I suppose," Jade shrugged.

"All of us at once?" Sticks stuck his head between Bethany and Jade's seats from where he was sitting in the back with Murphy. "We're not exactly the usual kind of visitors… we don't wanna give the old geezer a heart attack."

"He does have a point," Murphy agreed, rubbing his chin. "I highly doubt we are the kind of crowd he's used to."

"Siddharth said that it would be best to just be as honest as possible," Jade said, gesturing to her phone where she had been keeping in contact with the faceless ally who contacted her by the phone, albeit reluctantly. He wanted to use some encrypted something or another on a laptop but none of the four members had any laptops with them. "Else it could cause more trouble."

Bethany sighed. "He's going to blame us for that stupid fake death thing, isn't he?" Siddharth had explained to Jade, who had then passed it on, what he had done to get Johann Schneider back to Berlin. It left a sickly feeling in Bethany's stomach but she supposed she understood what the intentions were. According to Siddharth they had approximately eight hours remaining until the List were start properly and the professor being up in Sweden would have been far too difficult to get to him.

"He told us we can be honest, right?" Sticks said with a grin. "So we pin the blame on the rightful person – meaning, not us! A professor wouldn't shoot the messenger, right?"

"Let's find out," Bethany said and climbed out of the van, stretching her aching limbs. She had been expecting to have a good night's rest after the evening's concert but this Siddharth had sent everything spirally out of order and she could feel her body protesting. Jade got out of the passenger seat and pulled the side-door open for Murphy and Sticks. Bethany looked at the three of them and couldn't help but think Sticks was right: they did make for a strange crowd.

All four of them were still dressed in the attire they had worn for the concert not to mention the fact that Murphy was, as always, still wearing his sunglasses even though it was pitch black and Sticks was sporting the tall Mohawk that had been died a bright green for the week. At least Bethany and Jade looked fairly normal.

Bethany took the lead and led the band across the road to a line of houses. She looked to Jade. "Which number?"

"32," Jade reported back, consulting the phone.

They walked along the row of houses until finally coming to a stop in front of number 32, a squat comfortable looking house that matched the rest on the street. Bethany took a breath before striding up to the white front door and pressing the doorbell. They heard the bell ring through the house and waited with bated breath.

After a while Bethany looked to Jade. "He doesn't seem to be in…"

"Siddharth said he should be here," Jade frowned.

"Maybe he took a night time stroll?" Murphy suggested.

"Why don't we just find out?" Sticks said and pushed past Bethany, pulling the handle of the door. Bethany immediately grabbed his arm.

"Sticks!" she hissed. "What are you doing?!"

Sticks looked back at Bethany innocently. "What? We didn't drive here for nothing. Houses like these are usually unlocked. I figure we can just pop our head in. A professor will almost certainly have some kind of identifying feature that the house belongs to him and once we confirm that we can just wait outside."

"You're talking about breaking and entering!"

"It ain't breaking if it's unlocked," Sticks grinned roguishly and pushed the handle more, letting a crack of the door open. "See?"

"It's still trespassing!" Bethany couldn't believe Sticks could be so thoughtless.

"Wait, Bethany, he might be right… We need to get the professor on our side. Trust me, the more allies we have on the List the better if will be." Jade motioned to the door. "It'll only take a second."

"We're rock stars, not criminals, Jade!" Bethany insisted, before turning to Murphy. "Don't tell me you agree with them?"

Murphy took a moment to respond. "Well… I do agree with you, Bethany…"

"Thank you!"

"But… I can also see where Sticks and Jade are coming from…" He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "This whole thing is entirely different with List. It may take some steps we don't want to take but might be wholly necessary."

"There we go, I'm afraid you're outvoted," Sticks grinned and pushed open the door fully just as a massive grey blur slammed into him with enough force to send the drummer flailing into the street. "What—" Sticks' surprised response was interrupted by a ferocious growl that came from the great grey dog that had leapt out of the door. The dog was absolutely massive, slim and slender, and was pinning Sticks to the street while turning its shaggy head between the three other members of the band.

"Whoa, hey, hey, good dog," Bethany put her hands up and motioned to the other two to do the same. "Hey, boy, hey. We're just looking for you—"

The dog barked loudly and sharply, sending it echoing across the quiet neighbourhood.

"No, no, ssh—"

Once again the great dog barked again and let out another warning growl.

"You great big bastard, get off me!" Sticks reached up and attempted to wrap his arms around the dogs mid-section but his fingers brushed the fur but nothing else. Sticks changed his mind and decided to push against the front legs that were pinning his shoulders down. "Get off!"

"Sticks!" Bethany instinctively stepped forward to stop Sticks from fighting but the dog let out a third great bark and leaped at her. Bethany didn't have a moment to think as it barrelled into her. Bethany felt like she had been hit by a small car as she rolled over the tarmac of the street. The next thing she saw was the hound's bright teeth in front of her looking ferociously sharp. Then Jade was there, wrapping her arms around the dog's neck. The dog was so big that Jade's legs were lifted off the floor as the dog swung its neck. She lost her grip and crashed down next to Bethany.

"That is _not_ a normal dog!" Jade breathed and she and Bethany scrambled up to their feet. The dog was growled again, its chest reverberating as the four members of the Miracle Skyhawks surrounded it. The dog looked at each of them in turn, its eyes gleaming.

"Back away," Bethany breathed to her friends. "Slowly. Those teeth will do a lot of—" It seemed speaking had been the wrong thing to do. The dog decided that she would make the best target and pushed towards her with its mouth open wide. Then Jade crashed into her side and for the second time Bethany was thrown to the ground.

She looked up to see that the dog's mouth had latched completely over Jade's arm. Jade's face was screwed up in pain as blood dripped to the street. The dog let out a growl and pulled Jade backwards. Jade nearly fell over but managed to stay on her feet, her skin and muscle tearing under the vice-like grip of the dog.

" _JÄGER!"_ The stern voice rang out over the dark street and immediately the dog let go of Jade and warily walked over to the approaching old man. With the strange braid of white hair and worn lines on his face, it was very likely that this man was Professor Johann Schneider. Johann looked down to the dog who must have been named Jäger. "Das ist anders als du." Then Johann saw that Jade was clutching a heavily bleeding arm under her torn leather jacket. "Oh, my poor dear," Johann's English was impeccable as he approached Jade.

"It's fine," Jade said, hastening to pull away her arm but Johann grabbed it with an equally vice-like grip as Jäger.

"Nonsense," Johann murmured as he gently lifted the leather sleeve. "A Scottish deerhound is one of the most deadly canines when under duress. Their teeth can tear through bone with ease." Johann observed the torn skin with a frown. "We must clean this immediately. Come, into my home. I have the necessary equipment there."

" _It's fine_ ," Jade repeated, managing to pull her arm away. She backed away and grinned a lop-sided smile at the Professor. "I'm more concerned about my jacket, if I'm honest."

"It is admirable to act brave in front of a stranger, my dear, but also it is foolish to ignore the fact that you are bleeding all over my street." Johann shook his head and stepped towards Jade again. Murphy, Sticks, and Bethany all exchanged glances, feeling almost like third wheels as Johann walked past them to reach Jade again. "Now, I insist you…"

Johann's eye widened as he looked at Jade's arm. Jade stood frozen as the wounds on her arms seemed to stitch together, just like they had back at the hotel room. Johann simply watched until the wounds had completely disappeared. Jade looked to Bethany, concerned, but Bethany knew they couldn't do anything now. They would have to somehow talk their way through this.

"…Fascinating," Johann said in an awed voice – a reaction Bethany hadn't expect. He grabbed the arm in a careful but firm grip again and slid his finger across the skin that was now as smooth as it had always been. "Is it possible… but no… but perhaps…" Johann was murmured to himself. "After all this time. I see no other explanation." Johann suddenly looked up into the bemused Jade's eyes. "You must come into my home," he said before looking at the other three for the first time. "All of you, please, I shall make us tea and we shall talk this through."

"Uh…" Sticks looked at Jäger warily as he spoke. "Don't you want to know who we are?"

"Inside," Johann said more firmly. "It is cold and besides, I already know who you are."

"You… do?"

"You are the Miracle Skyhawks. Quite an impressive band. As for why you are here I have some guesses." Johann raised two fingers. "In the matter of twenty-four hours I have experienced three things that do not make sense. The first is that I was told a very good friend of mine was dead when in fact she was alive after all this time. The second is the four of you appearing on my doorstep. Now I know for certain that a band and a professor have no connection especially without prior information. I suspect you are working for whoever it was that faked the death of my friend. Seeing how the four of you clearly do not know about me – judging by the fact that you do not recognise me nor did you know of my constant companion, Jäger here – I can suspect that none of you are the masterminds behind the lie.

"So these two strange things are connected, of this I can be relatively certain. And this third thing… This young lady's injuries just disappeared before my very eyes which confirms that you are indeed not usual." Johann took a breath after his almost fervent speech and looked at the four Miracle Skyhawks with raised eyebrows. "Do not dawdle! Come inside and have some tea and explain to me just exactly what it is you are here for."


	28. Home Invasion

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

 **Home Invasion**

 _Santander, Spain_

 _03:25 CET_

 _6 Hours Remaining_

"…Wake up…"

"Hrng…"

"Adrian, wake up…"

"…Gimme a few more minutes…"

Seth Daniels put his hands on his hips and shook his head down at the man spread-eagled on the bed, tangled amidst the covers and sheets looking as slovenly as one could get. "Do I need to put it in sterner terms?"

"…Mmm… Fine…" Adrian Jacobs bemoaned, groggily opening his eyes to look at his boyfriend. "I'm awake, I'm awake." He sat up in the bed and stretched, letting out a wide yawn. He looked at Seth and a disappointed expression quickly flitted across his face. "Aw man, why're you wearing _those_?"

"They're called clothes," Seth smirked as he threw a bundle of fabric at Adrian. "Here. Take a shower and get changed. You got fifteen minutes." With that Seth turned around to two suitcases that were laid on the floor and packed with expert precision. "I think I've gathered everything."

"Souvenirs that were under the bed?" Adrian asked as he got up and padded over to the small bathroom in the hotel.

"Yep."

"Passports that were on the side?"

"Of course."

"That's the important stuff at least," Adrian's voice echoed from the bathroom as the sound of running water splashing against porcelain could be heard. "I assume you've already packed our clothes and other such belongings?"

"All accounted for," Seth reported as he knelt down, zipping up the first suitcase – a dark purple one with spirals that belonged to Adrian. His own suitcase was a black number heavily customised with studs and spikes that Adrian often said was too dangerous to lug around for fear of accidently using it as a bludgeon. Seth straightened up and cast his gaze across the room one final time in case he had forgotten anything but it seemed like he had managed to get everything. It was a miracle he'd managed to get it all back into the suitcase especially with the purchases they had made.

All that was left was making up the bed again after the mess Adrian had left it in. Halfway through the sound of the shower stopped and the door opened. Seth glanced up to see Adrian walking out half-dressed, holding his t-shirt and his jacket in his arms, the long half of his bright pink hair plastered against the side of his head. He was wearing a strange expression that Seth was quick to pick up on.

"What's wrong?" Seth asked, quickly throwing the cover on the bed before walking over to Adrian.

Adrian chewed his bottom lip for a moment before saying, "I don't want to leave."

Realising what was on Adrian's mind, Seth softly smiled. "I know."

"I meant what I said, you know. On the beach. About moving here permanently."

"Of course," Seth said as he sat on the bed and patted next to him. Adrian sat down beside him, placing the jacket to the side and starting to wring the white t-shirt between his hands. "I agreed with you, remember? You said it yourself, Adrian. We gotta work towards it."

"Not once…" Adrian said almost too quietly for Seth to hear. "…Not once have people looked at us like we were dirt, like we didn't belong…"

Seth only nodded. It wasn't unusual for the usually bright and cheery Adrian to get melancholy in the mornings. It was a common thing for Adrian to wake up next to Seth after uncomfortable nightmares or solemn thoughts.

"Why can't it be like these two weeks all the time? I've never been so happy and now that it's ending I feel like we've missed so much opportunity…" Adrian sighed and pulled his t-shirt on, looking at Seth briefly. "Sorry…" He forced a smile. "I'm being a bit of a bummer, aren't I?"

"You are," Seth admitted and stood up again, Adrian following his actions. Then he grinned. "But hey, it's stupid-a-clock in the morning. I'll forgive you." He grabbed Adrian's leather jacket and motioned for Adrian to raise his arms. He slid one of the sleeves on Adrian's arm and leaned forward, brushing his lips against Adrian's neck. "We'll work hard to get back here." Seth trailed his lips up to Adrian's earlobe. "We'll save up as much as we can…" Seth pulled away and slipped the other sleeve on Adrian's arm. Then he stood in front of Adrian and leaned forward, planting a quick, soft kiss against Adrian's lips. "In under a year we'll make it back here. I promise."

For a moment Adrian simply stared with wide-eyes at Seth. How was it that in so few words Seth could make him feel so optimistic again? Seth was always good at remaining level-headed and always knew how to make Adrian feel almost giddy. Struck by a sudden urge, Adrian leaned forward and kissed Seth, deeper this time. Seth responded in kind for a long moment before pulling away and chuckling to himself.

"As much as I would love to continue, we've got to move. I want to get to the airport before the early traffic for everyone else heading back."

Adrian sighed and nodded, grabbing his studded boots from the corner and sliding them on. "I suppose that makes sense… but you owe me. When we get home we're not going to leave your place 'till _tomorrow_ morning."

"That's sounds like something to look forward to," Seth grinned wolfishly and grabbed up the handle of his suitcase. "It'll make the flight more bearable with that to look forward to. I don't want to waste any more time now, the sooner we go the sooner we can make that wish a reality!"

* * *

 _Berlin, Germany_

 _03:35_

Johann Schneider stared with rapt attention at Jade Skysong and Bethany Cross, his cup of tea left undrunk and long cold on the side table. Sticks was snoozing on the sofa and Murphy was also breathing much slower though the shades on his face disguised whether he was actually sleeping or not. Jade and Bethany were both looking quite tired themselves and Bethany found herself occasionally losing a few seconds of the conversation that had been going on for upwards to an hour now.

"And this spectacular healing of yours is due to this Nectar?" Johann asked after Jade finished the story of the Nectar of the Gods and what she knew of its origins which, admittedly, was very little though the Professor seemed content enough.

"That's right," Jade nodded, lifting her hand and staring at it absently.

"It has been three years since you consumed this Nectar, correct?" Johann asked with the fervour of an eager schoolchild. "Have there been any side effects?"

"Unless you call not being able to die a side effect, no," Jade shrugged, lowering her hand.

"No slow down of the healing process? Did you heal faster back when you first consumed the Nectar?"

Jade hadn't expected this question and thought for a long moment before she shook her head. "No… if anything, it may have gotten faster."

Johann nodded as if he had been expecting this answer. "It would, after all, make sense. This Nectar went into your blood and it would have been spread around the bloodstream. Perhaps the longer it remains in your body the more it develops…" Johann absently stroking the snoozing Jäger's head who had long decided the Miracle Skyhawks were not a threat. "What intrigues me is that this Oracle of yours named this Nectar as such. Would you know why?" Jade shook her head and once again Johann nodded as if he had expected this. "Nectar has great origins in Greek Mythology. Very closely, but not specifically, related to Ambrosia, the two were often seen as the drink and the food of the Gods, at least according to Homer. It would not be so far-fetched to consider Nectar and Ambrosia as the blood that runs in the Gods veins – after all, in Christianity Jesus proclaimed that wine was a symbol of his blood. Not to mention that the man called himself an Oracle – another phrase steeped in Greek Mythology." Johann stroked his moustache with glittering eyes.

"Where did the name Death come from?" Johann suddenly asked, looking to Jade again. Jade seemed alarmed at this sudden question.

"I… I don't know, it's just the name given to me by Ruby Ascot…"

"Of course, of course, you only know what you were told… But I wonder…" Johann suddenly stood up and started pacing back and forth. "I have been considering this List and this is something that is also steeped in ancient history though this could be a stretch. In Ancient Egypt it was considered common that when a Pharaoh passes his servants are slain in order to serve him into the next life. I wonder, I wonder…" Johann's turned on his heel and moved over to one of the stuffed bookshelves that lined his living room. He pulled a large old looking book and flipped through it. "…I have never heard it being mentioned in historical texts as a List but it wouldn't be a stretch… a list of people to follow their pharaoh to the afterlife… would the visionaries be considered the pharaoh in this comparison? They are given these visions for a vision, surely, or is it an innate ability? A gift or an inheritance?

"So many questions, so little answers, who would know?" Johann closed the book and threw it haphazardly on the side and turned. "I must talk with Ruby As—" Johann suddenly stopped. Bethany's head had lolled to the side and even Jade was nodding off despite her best efforts. Johann let out a soft, almost fatherly, smile. "I must contain my excitement." Johann stepped over to Jade as she was the only one still awake. "You and your friends may use my living room to rest. You have had a very busy day I have no doubt and quite frankly, you look exhausted. From what you tell me we can make no more movements until Siddharth Bola and Rose Milano arrive. So rest, sleep, get the energy you need for what is to come."

As if waiting for his permission, Jade let out a small nod before allowing her eyes to shut properly and it wasn't long until her breath slowed. Johann smiled at the four adults in his room looking nothing more than children after a long day of play and turned around, softly walking to his study on the other side of the living room.

The study was as full of books as the living room with only one wall free of clutter. However this wall had a large frame of corkboard placed against it held up with a string. On this board was a few notes and clippings Johann had gathered. It was an investigation that he had started in the hope of finding more about mysterious abilities but he was unable to find any further proof and couldn't continue it. However, everything Jade Skysong had just told him changed everything.

"Tsomo…" Johann muttered. "Vielleicht werde ich Ihrem Schicksal auf den Grund gehen... Bald." Johan felt euphoria in his chest that he hadn't felt for so long. With the four band members sleeping soundly in his living room, he closed the door to his study and started pulling books out from his bookshelves, to research everything he had learned and to see if he could learn more.

* * *

 _Cologne, Germany_

 _03:48 CET_

"Something is wrong," Rose said as soon as she and Siddharth had gotten close to the house of Jenna Weissler. An almost cold analytical sense came to her as if she was back in training for the DSI. There was a car parked haphazardly in front of the house, bearing fresh scratch marks on the bonnet and sides as if someone had decided to take it for a spin in a bush. The door was hanging open a few inches peering into the blackness inside. And the window to the left of the door had been smashed – glass littering the floor.

"It looks like someone has broken in…" Siddharth said from his usual position at the back of the Tepee. He stroked his beard in concern.

Rose took a breath as she got out of the car just as Sam's motorbike came to a stop next to her, plunging the evening into sudden silence. If this was a break-in, had the sounds of the two vehicles scared them into running away? Or were they still in the house?

"What's going on?" Sam asked, pulling her helmet off and looking at Rose with concern. Rose simply looked at both Siddharth and Sam.

"You two need to stay put," Rose said, moving over to the trunk of the Tepee were Axel had stashed supplies. She reached for a small pistol, checked it over, and slid it into the hem of her jeans. Not the safest mode of transport for a firearm but Rose had no intention of even using it. Rose closed the trunk and looked again at Sam. "I'm the only one suited for any kind of combat and if people have broken in to that house I am the only one who can deal with it. So stay here. Watch the exits. If I don't come back in half and hour, call the police… assuming they haven't been called already… It seems like it would have been noisy… Understand?" Rose asked, feeling most unlike herself as she spoke. Definitely the training of the DSI was kicking in under the possibility of a threat.

Both Sam and Siddharth nodded, both knowing that Rose was right. Neither of them would be any use if things went south.

"…Good luck, Rose," Siddharth said with that worried expression still on his face.

Rose just nodded and immediately headed for the open door of the Weissler household. She put her back against the concrete wall and strained her ears to listen. Almost immediately she heard the clearly drunken slur of a man.

"...Haben Sie Besucher erwartet?!"

"Nein!" A female voice responded though sounded muffled. "Es ist wahrscheinlich auf der anderen Straßenseite oder so... Oder vielleicht sind es die Polizisten, die den Lärm betrachten, den Sie gemacht haben!"

There was the sound of thudding and then a different voice.

"Wir sollten nachsehen."

"Fein. Gehen."

Rose wished that she knew German fluently. She had understood a few words such as 'police' and 'no', but elsewhere she couldn't be sure. Then she flattened her back against the wall as she heard footsteps coming down the steps.

A man came out of the doorway, stinking of alcohol and cigarettes and quite clearly drunk going by his red face and drunken stagger. The man narrowed his eyes on the car and motorbike, clearly taking a moment to think whether they had been there before. "was zum Teufel…" The man muttered and Rose took this moment to step behind him and latch her arms around his neck in the way she had been taught back in training. The man struggled briefly but it didn't take long for him to fall to the ground. Rose felt a strange thrill at this and disappeared into the open door, stepping lightly up the stairs.

It was clear that these thieves weren't any kind of professionals. As she crept up the stairs she heard the voices coming from down the hall. Rose frowned and approached cautiously, peering into the half-open door.

Two men, equally drunk as their cohorts, were standing in front of two young women. One Rose recognised clearly as Jenna Weisler, though it looked as if her nose was busted with blood gleaming over her mouth and shirt. The other looked similar to Jenna and was shaking. Both had been thrown against the wall but weren't tied up or otherwise subdued.

The two men were equal in size and equal in unawareness as they talked to each other in low voices, clearly waiting for their partner to come up. Rose had no desire to draw this out any longer – she didn't need to worry about anything seeing as they were just normal, bumbling thieves and nothing more.

Looking around for something heavy to smack into the back of the first man's head, Rose found nothing in the hallway. Deigning herself to use the pistol at least as a bludgeon, Rose pulled it out from her waistband and held the barrel in her hand, holding it at shoulder's height. She took a breath and then crashed into the room with her foot.

The first man turned, surprised as the door swung open, to be immediately hit in the temple with the butt of the pistol. He fell like a ton of bricks and Rose span around him as if she were dancing and hooked her arm around the other man's neck, catching him in the same hold as the one who had come out to investigate. As she choked the breath out of him she couldn't help but feel almost giddy that she was worried about these people. The DSI had trained her to deal with trained men and woman who learned hand-to-hand, weapon, and firearm training not a bunch of drunk bar-hoppers.

As the man fell down to join his friend Rose smiled successfully and turned to confront Jenna and the other woman just in time for a lamp to crash hard into her face, knocking the triumph and the sense completely out of her. Rose had but a moment to see Jenna Weissler standing with the now broken lamp in her hands before she found consciousness escaping her.


	29. Lack of Communication

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

 **Lack of Communication**

 _Cologne, Germany_

 _04:03 CET_

 _5 Hours Remaining_

Rose could feel blood on her face but forced herself to ignore it as she pushed herself back off of the floor. She turned her head to see Jenna was standing defensively in front of the other woman who Rose could only assume was Jenna's sister going by her age.

"Bleib zurück!" Jenna's eyes narrowed as she held the broken lamp in front of her, the broken bulb glinting under the ceiling light.

Rose slowly put her hands up so it didn't seem like she was making any sudden movements and got to her knees, remaining in that position. She looked directly into Jenna's eyes and shook her head. "I am not a threat," Rose said despite the fact that Jenna very likely couldn't understand English which was proven as Jenna shook the lamp again in a particularly ferocious manner. Rose couldn't help but admire the fact that Jenna was visibly standing up for herself and her sister. Then she wondered whether Jenna would have been planning on attacking the men with the lamp had she not come in.

Sparing a glance at the two men Rose saw that both of them were still out – in fact, it seemed like they had both fallen asleep. Not too surprising considering the state they were in. She turned back to face Jenna, "Do you speak English?" Rose gestured to her mouth with one of her hands.

"Nein…" Jenna said, her meaning clear enough. She glanced back to her sister who was shaking visibly, clutching her knees. "Wanda, ruf die Polizei." The sister, Wanda, looked up at Jade with wide eyes. Jenna glared at Rose as if to tell her not to move before turning around and kneeling down next to her sister, placing the lamp down and placing a comforting hand on the shaking woman's shoulder. "Bitte."

Rose remained on her knees with her hands up. She had no desire to frighten the Weissler sisters nor give them any reason to mistrust her. The only problem was this language barrier. If only she could somehow get Sam up then they would at least be able to communicate. Jenna finished whispering to her sister and turned around quickly as if expecting Rose to have done something. Jenna noticed the pistol Rose had dropped and quickly kicked it to the side of the room.

Smart, Rose couldn't help but think, before frowning at Wanda who had pulled out her phone and was no doubt dialing the police going by the word 'Polizei' Jenna had spoken moments before. Police would make everything a lot more difficult. Jenna was walking over to the other side of the room, apparently trusting that Rose wasn't going to move. She quickly opened a cupboard and fished out two pairs of trainers. Rose watched with interest as Jenna turned back around and pulled the laces out of each trainer. She harshly pulled the wrists of one of the drunk men together and tied the lace around tightly as a form of mock handcuffs.

She repeated the motion with the second one who let out a sleepy grunt before walking over to Rose. "Not necessary…" Rose said, shaking her head at Jenna. She raised her arms even more to try and indicate this to her. "No, uh, nein," but Jenna was having none of it. She roughly grabbed Rose's arms behind her and wrapped the shoe-lace tightly around her wrists. Rose could feel the material digging in. IF she had wanted to she would have been able to get Jenna to the floor but she didn't want to do anything that would break what very little fragile trust there was. Certainly, attacking Jenna would not help anyone, so she had no choice but to let Jenna tie the laces together and step back towards her sister.

"Wir werden auf die Polizei warten. Alles wird gut, Wanda. Ich verspreche," Jenna said is a reassuring tone, kneeling next to her sister and stroking her hair as if she were a child. Jenna's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men and Rose with an analytical eye.

* * *

Jenna was doing her best to remain strong for Wanda but she found it particularly hard to keep her cool with the three strangers in her room. True, the two assholes were in a drunken sleep now and the strange lady hadn't moved from her position, but Jenna felt like that could all change at any time. Yet Wanda didn't want to move so that meant she had to stay where she was until the police turned up.

She rubbed at the blood on her upper lip absently as she sat next to her sister, cursing herself for being so stupid. The only reason the three men had managed to get into their home was because she had dropped her backpack when they had confronted her. If she had only kept a better grip of it then none of this wouldn't happen.

As expected, Wanda had been extremely worried when Jenna hadn't come home on time and she had insisted they sleep together. It wasn't a surprise to Jenna – when Wanda got worried or scared, she often insisted to sleep with Jenna as if they were children. Jenna didn't mind too much and quite frankly it had been a blessing in disguise that they _were_ in the same room when the three men had arrived.

Jenna had tried to defend herself and her sister but the men who so drunk and belligerent they wouldn't listen at all and she had received a punch to the nose in response. Things were starting to look quite dire until the strange woman had come in and knocked them out as if she were some kind of super spy from the movies – she even had a firearm, something that scared Jenna immensely. She disliked firearms with a passion, ever since her father's had misfired in their youth and carved a hole not two inches from where Wanda had been sitting at the time.

The police were on their way but Jenna couldn't help but wonder yet again about this woman. It seemed she spoke no German and she could recognise English even if she didn't understand the language. But the woman had saved her and Wanda, right? There was no sign of the third man so that meant he must have been disposed of as well… and the woman was still looking at her with those eyes of hers!

Jenna let out a frustrated sigh and stood up, gently prising Wanda's hand from her own. Wanda murmured a word of dissent but she was still far too scared to put up a fight. Jenna walked in front of the woman and spoke, "Warum?" Jenna asked, beckoning to the men.

The woman simply shook her head and repeated the strange inflections that probably meant something along the lines of not speaking German. Jenna decided a different tactic and pointed to herself. "Jenna. Jenna Weissler."

Eager to try to converse in a way they could both understand, the woman immediately responded with, "Rose Milano." The woman named Rose smiled encouragingly and spoke a word, "Friend." Jenna had no idea what that meant and frowned. At least they knew each-others names. An invader wouldn't give away a name so quickly, would they?

Besides the fact that the woman had immediately fallen to her knees and put her hands up meant something but Jenna couldn't figure out what. Rose had dispatched of her attackers and didn't provoke her even after Jenna had hit her with the lamp…

She heard the distant sirens and made a split decision. She moved behind Rose and pulled at the laces, untying the hands of the stranger. "Gehen," Jenna said, beckoning to the door. "Gehen!"

Rose looked up at her with surprised eyes and tilted her head as she heard the sirens as well. She let out what sounded like a curse before reaching into her pocket. Jenna stiffened, a flash of worry that Rose was reaching for a weapon running through her like electricity, but Rose only pulled out a cell-phone. She pressed a couple of buttons and then handed it out towards Jenna. She tapped the number and then her wrist and Jenna understood this to mean call that number later. "Sidd… Harth?" Jenna said slowly and Rose nodded with a smile, tapping her wrist again. Then she put her hands together in thanks and disappeared out the door and back down the stairs, leaving Jenna holding the phone and wondering if the evening could get any stranger.

* * *

Rose was not satisfied with leaving Jenna Weissler like that but with the sirens of the police getting louder she knew she had no choice. Being caught by the police wouldn't help anyone and at least she had managed to give her name to Jenna as well as her phone. She hoped Jenna had understood what she meant to call her later. If she called Siddharth then they'd be able to get Sam as a translator.

She stepped over the sleeping man in the porch and hurried over to the Tepee, where Siddharth and Sam were waiting by the passenger doors, looking quite concerned.

"How did it—" Sam started but Rose shook her head.

"No, get on your bike, follow us. We need to go. The police are coming. Jenna is safe at least. I've given her contact information… I just hope she'll use it." Rose climbed into the driver's seat as Siddharth and Sam looked at her, perplexed. "Come on! The police are on their way and we cannot afford to be questioned by them. That would make Evrard know our location easily. So stop gawping and come on!"

Siddharth and Sam needed no further provoking. Sam pulled on her motorcycle helmet while Siddharth clambered back into the passenger seat of the Tepee. Against her best interest but knowing she didn't have a choice, Rose pulled away and started down the opposite way the sirens were coming from, knowing that they had to head to Berlin and hope Jenna would call them. At least they knew where Jenna lived – that meant they could come back after meeting everyone in Berlin and try again.

At least, if it wasn't too late by then.


	30. Coward

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

 **Coward**

 _Dublin, Ireland_

 _04:40 GMT_

 _4 Hours Remaining_

At the sound of retching, Derek found himself drawn out of his light sleep and sat up, rubbing his eyes. _Not again,_ he thought as he sat up, listening. Just as he thought that it might have been his imagination he heard the retching again, followed by the sound of water splashing. He let out a small sigh and climbed out of his bed. The sky through the window was still dark though perhaps there was a hint of light in the horizon.

Stifling a small yawn from a night of uncomfortable sleep, Derek padded over the carpet to the door, opening it out into the hallway. It was completely dark except for the sliver of light coming from the crack of the bathroom door. Just as expected.

"Alisha?" Derek called out softly. His parents would still be sleeping though it was possible that they had been awakened by Alisha as well. He crept over to the door and put his hand on the handle though didn't enter. "Are you okay?"

"Of course not!" Came the reply of Alisha's voice, hoarse and scratchy. "Go away!" Her tone was back to the normal irritated tone she often gave Derek. It was almost like the conversation the previous evening had never even happened though this was another thing Derek wasn't surprised about. Alisha had disliked Derek ever since she had arrived at the Sanders doorstep with nothing but a rucksack of small possessions and misery to her name. Despite the fact that she and Derek shared the same biological father Alisha had always cast her hatred at him, their father, and his mother and that hatred had never really ceased as they grew up.

"I'll get some water," Derek said and moved away from the bathroom door despite the protests from Alisha on the other end though she was interrupted by another volley of retching. Derek quickly and quietly made his way downstairs to the kitchen and filled a cup with water from the tap before heading back upstairs to the bathroom. "I'm coming in, Alisha," he announced gently and pushed open the door to the bathroom.

Alisha was leaning over the toilet with her hair cast over her face, matted with what Derek could only presume to be vomit. When she looked up at him her face was pale and her eyes red, a small dribble extending down the corner of her mouth. She looked an absolute wreck. She opened her mouth to send a retort Derek's way before quickly turning her head and letting out another small volley of vomit. It spattered against the bowl of the toilet and Alisha coughed violently, her shoulders shaking.

"Here," Derek said, kneeling down next to Alisha and offering her the glass of water. Alisha peered at it for a moment before snatching it from him and taking a big gulp before immediately coughing violently and spitting the water out. "Slowly," Derek said, reaching up to push the hair out from his sister's face.

"Get off!" Alisha struck out with her hand and slapped Derek's away. Derek withdrew with a frown as Alisha's shoulders heaved. He could see tears trailing down her cheeks now. Whatever she had consumed or taken at that party was taking a big effect on her. This wasn't like her normal vomiting sessions after going out with her friends. That would usually only last a few minutes before she fell asleep still fully dressed in her bed. Alisha had been at it ever since they had gotten back.

"This is worse than usual," Derek spoke his thoughts to Alisha and crossed his arms. "Should I call—"

"Don't!" Alisha spat and threw the half-filled glass sloppily at him. Derek managed to catch the glass but the water splashed over his bare chest and face. He wiped his eyes and let out another sigh. "…Don't…"

"You ought to accept help when it is offered," Derek said gently as he made for the door again. "I'll check in on you again in an hour, whether you like it or not. If you're still like this by seven I'm going to get dad and mum to take you to the hospital. You aren't healthy, Alisha." As Alisha turned back towards the toilet, Derek shook his head and left the bathroom and his sister alone, entering his bedroom again and placing the glass on his bedside table.

He leaned on the windowsill and looked out at the dark road in front of their house. He wished he could do more for Alisha and he wished that she could accept his help. It had been foolish to think that the previous evening had meant anything. She was just vulnerable and weak. Why couldn't she just be like a normal sibling? Why couldn't she understand that they were still related by blood even if they were raised by different families…? Why did she have to put herself through so much pain and so much misery instead of seeing the better side of things?

These were questions Derek had always asked himself about his sister and they were questions he could never quite find the answers to. As he leaned on the window sill and thought about Alisha, he absently watched a silver car drive slowly up the road. It came to a stop outside the house and Derek narrowed his eyes slightly. Chances were that it was just a neighbour getting dropped off or something – that wouldn't be so unusual – but the car simply stayed there, muffled shadows moving inside but not getting out.

With his attention fully directed at the car, Derek watched as the driver got out – a short-haired woman – and made her way to the boot. She opened the boot as two more passengers got out – another woman and a large looking man – who both went over to the boot as well. Derek could see that there was one more passenger in the back though it seemed like this one was staying in the car.

Straining his ears he could hear the muffled sounds of conversation and then the man shut the boot carefully. For a moment Derek thought they were going to head down the street but then the short-haired woman walked straight over to the gate that closed of the very small patio that separated their house from the road. She opened the gate and disappeared from Derek's view. Not a moment later he heard the sharp ring of the doorbell.

It seemed far too early for visitors but nevertheless Derek made his way back out to the hallway. He heard Alisha retch into the toilet again and knew she hadn't heard a thing. Bypassing the toilet he heard nothing from his parent's room. That was no surprise – they were always heavy sleepers. Moving back down the stairs he pulled on a jacket that was on the hook to the left and zipped it over his bare chest before opening the door.

The woman with the short hair was standing at the doorway with an almost apologetic smile across her face. The big man who had quite the grand moustache flanked her left and the other woman with raven hair and ethnic features flanked her right. The three made quite the unusual trio and Derek couldn't quite figure out quite what to say.

"…Um… Hello… Can I help you?" He managed to say, feeling nerves run up his spine, though for what reason he couldn't say.

"We're sorry to call so early," the short-haired woman said. "It's an emergency, I'm afraid."

Derek narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Jamie. This is Axel and this is Tanzi."

"Yes, but _who_ are you?"

"We're special investigators," Jamie said. "May we come in? I'm afraid the news we have isn't for doorstep conversation." Then she reached into her jacket and pulled out a small black rectangle. "Here," she handed it to Derek and Derek peered at it under the dull light from the landing. It seemed to be an I.D. card with sleek silver writing that indeed confirmed the woman was named _Jamie G. Root._

 _"_ It's awfully early," Derek continued, handing the card back.

"I apologise for that. We left as soon as we could and arrived as soon as we were able."

"Well… Okay, come in," Derek gave in and opened the door wide. "But you'll have to be quiet. Everyone else is asleep," Derek said hoping Alisha wouldn't choose that moment to let out the contents of her stomach.

As Jamie walked into the room, she turned to Derek with that apologetic smile again. "Well, actually, we were hoping to speak to all of you. All four of you will want to hear what we have to say. If we settle in the living room, would you be able to wake them up for us?"

"…Okay…" Derek watched as the raven-haired woman called Tanzi perched on the edge of one of the armchairs and Axel fell into the sofa. "I'll get them," Derek said, unsure and confused. He made his way back up the stairs, wondering just what these three people were here for.

* * *

 _Vienna, Austria_

 _06:55 CEST_

"Nicht in der Pfütze!" But it was too late as the small Spaniel dived head-first into one of the many muddy puddles dotting the park. "Eren, nein, nein!" The Spaniel jumped back out of the puddle and shook itself back and forth, spattering fresh mud over Sebastian Meyer's already stained trousers. Eren's tongue lolled out happily as Sebastian cursed and shook his head. "Wunderbar," Sebastian rolled his eyes and shook his head, quickly grabbing Eren's collar and latched the lead back on the tab. "Lass uns nach Hause gehen, Eren."

It was an absolutely miserable morning and had been raining all night and most of the previous day. The sky was grey, the wind cold, and the constant slew of rain permeating even through Sebastian's coat and jacket underneath. Nevertheless he had consented to walking Eren as he usually did every morning mostly because it got him out of the house. He would much rather challenge mother nature than his father.

Reluctantly turning around, Sebastian led Eren down the gravel path back towards the edge of the city proper. The park he was walking Eren in was at the base of one of the many steep hills that surrounded the west side of the city and his home was a little further down – on the furthest road from the city. Another bonus of walking Eren at this time meant that he wouldn't have to linger at home for very long. As soon as he got home he would have to change into his school uniform and then set out again if he were to reach school on time. He had to walk as his father wouldn't give him any money for a bus and god forbid actually drive him there.

"Hallo!" The voice that called out was not only a surprise but also horribly familiar. Sebastian turned and held the lead tight as he saw four figures walking up the hill dressed in dark hoodies with amused expressions on their face. The leader of this four was Lukas and was in the same year as Sebastian at school. His three goons, Jonas, David, and Jakob, were varying years under him. Lukas liked to lead them – and others – around by using his vile attitude to lead them with fear.

It was too late for Sebastian to turn around now so merely consented to nod at Lukas with what he hoped was a convincing smile and attempted to walk straight past him but Lukas reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat. Eren whimpered and hid behind Sebastian's legs, a coward to the end. Not that Sebastian could blame the small Spaniel – he would have done the same if he had the opportunity. "Ich sagte hallo ... Ich erwarte eine Begrüßung." Lukas leered from under his hood.

Sebastian took in a quick breath and muttered, "H-Hallo…"

Instantly Lukas laughed and suddenly jabbed the palm of his other hand into Sebastian's chest, throwing him back-first in a particularly deep muddy puddle. As he pushed himself out of the elbow-deep puddle all four of them laughed down at him. Sebastian fought the hot tears in the corners of his eyes but felt them reluctantly slip past his cheeks. Perhaps the rain would wash them away before the bullies would find further reason to torment him.

"Wir sehen uns in der Schule, _Sebastian_ ," With a final guffaw, Lukas walked off flanked by his three followers, laughing all the while. Sebastian watched them disappear into the rainy horizon before letting himself fall back into the puddle, letting his head float in the muck-filled water, his hair spread out around him like a net. The tears were flowing freely now and he grit his teeth, staring up at the grey sky.

He wished that Lukas didn't live so close to him. He wished that when he got home his father wouldn't hit him for tracking mud in the house. He wished he was in a different city, in a different school, in a different home…

…He wished he could just slip under the waters and end it right here and right now to avoid the torment of his future. Yet Sebastian knew that this wouldn't happen. Much like Eren who was now tugging fruitlessly at the lead, Sebastian Meyer was, and always would be, a coward.

* * *

 _ **A/N:- And the last of our survivors is properly introduced in Sebastian. Now, when I set out with Project Phoenix and in particular Last Laugh, I wanted to try some new things out - that being an international List and a twenty-four hour countdown. The point of the project is to test things and to risk things, without either of these things I will never improve myself. I think the international List is working wonderfully but I also think that the twenty-four hour countdown may not be working as much as I'd have hoped. Nevertheless, I don't regret it and I'm glad I at least tried it!**_

 _ **Anywho, that's the thought for the day! See you next time as we get VERY close to the countdowns end and the List's tumultuous activation!**_


	31. Garda Síochána

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

 **Garda Síochána**

 _Dublin, Ireland  
05:05 GMT_

 _3 Hours Remaining_

If one were to walk into the Sanders household they would have found quite the peculiar sight in front of them. The four members of the Sanders family were facing across the room to the three strangers – an unseen rift clearly dividing the two halves of the room. Derek sat in the middle of the sofa, with his father and his mother on either side of him. Marianna was wearing an extremely worried expression, her eyes darting between all three of the strangers as if she were watching an intense tennis game. Patrick Sanders' fingers were laced together and he was leaning forward with his shoulders bunched defensively, his expression a mix of annoyance, disgust, and the slightest bit of intrigue. Alisha had to be dragged from the bathroom and was now sitting with her back against the wall, a bucket between her legs and her face as pale as marble.

Tanzi, Jamie, and Axel were all sitting on hard-backed chairs dragged from the dining room, each of them waiting patiently in the tense atmosphere for one of the Sanders to speak. So far, the plan concocted in the Citroën on the way into Dublin had gone to plan – though getting into the Sanders house was the easy part. The hard part was going to convince Patrick and Marianna to allow their children to enter their care.

* * *

" _They're not going to do it," Axel said from the passenger seat of the Citroën. He had switched from driving with Jamie halfway through Birmingham so he could get some rest. Taking strategic sleeps was something he was used to working in the DSI's Combat Division, especially on the missions he had taken under Lisa Valentine's orders. Axel was still quite surprised at the fact that neither Jamie nor Tanzi had gotten angry with him for not telling them that piece of information. He could understand Tanzi as she was a third party, not directly related to the DSI, but Jamie had the air of someone who didn't take kindly to withheld information yet she still treated Axel exactly as she had before. Maybe it was just because of the focus on the mission but either way Axel was happy for it. "No parent is going to give away their children to strangers."_

 _"That depends on the situation," Tanzi put in with a glance to the figure sleeping like a rock next to her. Leslie had his coat bunched up under his head as a makeshift pillow and had his legs curled under him. He had fallen asleep after Axel and Jamie had switched positions after they had picked up a quick bite to eat at a shifty looking gas station on the outskirts of Birmingham. She still felt a slight tinge of regret for tearing Leslie away from Naomi's mansion even though she knew it was the right thing to do to save his life._

 _"With all due respect, the boy doesn't have parents," Axel said and shrugged under Jamie's sharp gaze. "I am sorry but it is true. The situation is different. The Sanders are a happy family and they will not willingly give the two children to us." Axel crossed his arms as Jamie focused in on the road without saying a word. "I gathered those supplies for a reason. We ought to use them. We could take them cleanly – the parents wouldn't even need to know until the drugs wear off."_

 _"We're not kidnapping them!" Tanzi said sharply. "At least not if we haven't exhausted all the options."_

 _"We've talked through all the options, Tanzi."_

 _"Not all of them," Jamie suddenly said, drawing confused gazes from both Axel and Tanzi._

 _"What do you mean?" Axel asked, stroking his moustache with two fingers. "What have we not discussed?"_

 _Jamie took a moment to deliberately merge into another lane before answering. "What if it wasn't just Derek and Alisha? What if we invited the parents as well?"_

 _"That seems severely unlikely," Axel said, not convinced. "And quite unnecessary. Besides, we don't have the space to take them as well."_

 _"I'm sure we can acquire another vehicle," Jamie said with a quick glance to Axel. "We can pose a_ _s_ _Garda Síochána_."

 _"The what now?" Tanzi asked, not recognising that name at all._

 _"The national police for Ireland," Axel answered quickly, stroking his moustache more vigorously now. He understood what Jamie was getting at now. "Assuming I understand you correctly, Jamie, you want to act as the_ _Garda Síochána and spin a story regarding witness protection?"_

 _"Got it in one, Axel," Jamie allowed a small smile. "I haven't figured out all the kinks, though. Mainly the fact that we'd have to get them to Berlin."_

* * *

"Witness protection…?" Patrick Sanders spoke the words slowly as if trying to find a hidden meaning behind them. "What do you mean witness protection?" He shook his head slowly. "You want us to leave our home, our lives, because you say so? I don't care if you're with the national police you can't just expect us to throw away everything we've worked for – _I've_ worked for!"

"It would only be temporary, sir," Jamie assured.

"Temporary my arse! I've had dealings with your kind befotr. You call yourselves police but you're nothing more than government lapdogs." Patrick's voice was growing in both volume and fury, something that the family clearly didn't expect. Derek and Marianna regarded him with wide eyes while even Alisha looked up from her bucket for a moment. Patrick Sanders had always been a man who was calm and measured so seeing him light up like this meant something wrong. "Besides we haven't witnessed a thing! How could you possibly suggest such a thing? I will not let you divide my family again!"

Jamie couldn't help but be interested at this turn of events. It seemed the patriarch of the Sanders family had had dealings with the Garda Síochánabefore. Jamie looked to Axel and gave him a quick nod. Axel stood up, understanding her intentions, and walked out of the room as Patrick looked on. "Where is he going?"

"Just making a phone call," Jamie soothed but Patrick was having none of it.

"The two of you can follow him and all of you can get out of my house," Patrick stood up so suddenly that Marianna let out a small gasp. "I don't know what game you are playing but I've had enough of it. Tell Rory Alistar that I did everything he asked! I did my part so he can stay away from my family!"

"Perhaps we didn't explain properly," Jamie continued trying to buy Axel some time as he contacted Siddharth to get whatever information was lying behind Patrick's words. "Technically it is only Alisha that requires protection," Jamie quickly spun the tale using what Patrick had let slip. Thankfully her line of work for the DSI tended to involve a lot of improvisation and Patrick Sanders was hardly the most complicated of targets. "Mr. Alistar thought it prudent that we invite the whole family. He has been looking out for you, Patrick."

"Looking out for me?!" Patrick scoffed and shook his head.

"Why just me?" Alisha suddenly said, a little more colour in her cheeks.

"Not now, Alisha," Patrick said but Alisha shook her head, looking past her father to Jamie.

"What do I have to do with it?"

"You were present for your mother's death, were you not?" Jamie said and Alisha's mouth immediately turned into a thin line. They had planned to use Dayo Sanders' death from the very beginning, however distasteful as it may have been. In their communications, Siddharth had told them that it had worked perfectly to get Sam Gretman to go with them. While it wouldn't quite be as simple with Patrick and Marianna's presence, they could at least use Dayo to further the plan.

"Now you bring up my wife's death?!" Patrick flared.

"…Patrick?" Marianna spoke for the first time in a feeble, scared voice.

Patrick looked at her as if for the first time and quickly cleared his throat. "My ex-wife's death was ruled an accident. Rory ruled it as such himself. I don't understand why he is deciding to bring this all up now." Patrick ran a hand through his hair, completely dishevelled. Maybe it was because it was so early in the morning but he had none of his usual composure and he could feel his family's stares upon him. "I know how this works!" Patrick growled, thrusting his finger towards Tanzi who had been sitting quietly. "Your intimidation tactics won't work on me! If Rory is trying to send me a message then how about you stop spinning around the bush and tell me what it is!"

This outburst was the loudest yet and silence only followed his words.

"Patrick…" Marianna murmured.

"Dad?" Derek stood up slowly to stand next to his father. "What is going on?"

"What does mum have to do with this?" Alisha implored her father before she looked at Jamie. "Why are you bringing up my mother's death?"

At this moment Axel walked back into the room, slipping a mobile phone back into his pocket. He was wearing a strange, almost antagonistic, grin on his face that didn't match Axel's personality at all. Jamie supposed he was playing a part just like she was. "For one simple reason, my dear," Axel said in a menacing tone. "She was murdered."

The word hung over the room like a resistant spirit.

"…Murdered…?" Alisha finally croaked.

"Enough!" Patrick took a step towards Axel but suddenly froze as Axel pulled his pistol out from his jacket in a lightning quick motion. Marianna let out a small squeal of fear and Derek stiffened. What the hell was going on?!

"I'm afraid the jig is up," Axel said to Jamie in that same tone. She tried to discern what Axel was doing. Pulling the weapons out was not in their plans. "I've just been on the phone with Mr. Alistar. The deal is off, Patrick, Mr. Alistar doesn't deem it appropriate to keep things hidden anymore."

Patrick Sanders' face twisted – his features contorting into a mixture of anger, fear, and madness. "Shut your mouth!"

"What's wrong, Patrick? Scared of your family finding out the truth?" Axel chuckled low.

"What's he talking about?!" Alisha demanded.

"Be quiet, Alisha."

"Dad?" Derek started.

"Not now, Derek."

"Mum was murdered?" Alisha continued.

"She was in an accident—"

"But they said she was—"

"Please be quiet, Alisha."

"If Alisha's mother was murdered, she has a right to know about it," Derek said with narrowed eyes.

"Derek, please," Patrick insisted. "Just—"

"What aren't you telling us?" Derek said with a low voice.

"Why are you hiding things?" Alisha continued with wet eyes.

"Please—" Patrick tried.

"Dad, why can't you tell us?"

"What are you hiding?"

"You're acting strange."

"Did you _know_ she was murdered?!"

"Dad?"

"Did you?!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Patrick suddenly roared, spittle flying out of his mouth and his eyes bulging outwards. His shout cut through the room like a knife and tore through his family. He looked at each of them in turn. Alisha's tears were running down her cheeks, Derek's mouth was open in a small 'o' and Marianna looked at him as if she were looking at a stranger. "Just…" Patrick breathed. "…Just be quiet… for a moment… let me think…"

"This is how this is going to work. You and your family will go to your car – I shall accompany you – and we will be following my partners here to our destination." Axel slowly moved the barrel of the pistol around Patrick's jaw. "You have no choice in the matter, Patrick. At least if you don't want them to find out the things you've done for Mr. Alistar."

Patrick stared at Axel with narrowed eyes before finally slumping his shoulders and shaking his head. "Derek. Alisha. Marianna. Go to the car."

"But—" Alisha started.

"NOW!" Patrick barked. "Just… just go." Slowly, one by one, the Sanders reluctantly left the living room until it was only Patrick Sanders left with Axel, Jamie, and Tanzi. Axel got in close to Patrick.

"You always were good with following orders, Patrick. You did the smart thing. No one needs to get hurt, after all. It'll be just like it was when you were working for the mob."

"You're a bastard…" Patrick hissed. "Rory promised—"

"Yes, yes, and now he promises that he will break apart your family again." Axel leaned in ominously. "Perhaps this time it won't be your wife he gets you to kill. Perhaps he'll make you strangle your son. Or perhaps he'll make you shoot pretty little Alisha in the head. You'll do what we say else you'll have her blood on your hands as well as Dayo's."

Patrick looked for a moment as if he was about to strike Axel but then he turned and left the room to follow his family out of the house. Axel's expression immediately changed to one of sorrow as he faced Jamie and Tanzi. "Sorry you had to see that, Mädchen, but it seemed to be the best way to get them on board. Siddharth found out that Patrick was working for the mob, who had deep ties with the national police which, as you may have guessed, was led by one Rory Alistar." Axel shook his head. "I better get going. I doubt Patrick will do anything with his children's lives in danger but we can't be sure. I'll lead the way. You follow behind." And with that, Axel left the room leaving Tanzi and Jamie to contemplate the fact that Axel had shown a vicious side of him that they had never seen before. He did seen almost too real in the role he was apparently playing. Was that acting, or was it something he had done before in Lisa Valentine's combat squad?


	32. Riddle's Trap

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

 **Riddle's Trap**

 _Berlin, Germany_

 _07:25 CET_

 _2 Hours Remaining_

The darkness hugged Rob Winters with a comfortable embrace. It allowed him to hide away from the reality of the previous day and early morning and not focus on the things that had pierced him and shaken him to his very core. The darkness was a crutch he could use to calm down and control his emotions; after all, darkness was something Rob was very familiar with. When he was young his father had locked him away in the small basement under the mansion when he hadn't achieved the desired results in his home schooling. At first Rob at been immensely frightened at the darkness and would cower with his head between his knees but after many days and eventually years he had come to rely on the darkness to get him through the hard days that his father forced upon him.

It really wasn't that uncomfortable in the trunk of the long, sleek saloon car. Rob suspected it was better in here than it was in the car itself where a frosty silence had reigned over its three occupants throughout the whole journey. Rob knew enough from what had happened at the Borek Bridge that they hadn't expected someone like Marshall to fight against them nor had they expected to lose a man. Rob felt a strange pleasure in knowing that one of them hadn't made it, that Marshall had taken him out.

It was strange, Rob found, that he would have preferred to be back in the van with Marshall. The man may have kidnapped him, hit him, hurt him, but he had also conversed with him and given Rob what felt like good advice when it came to his future and his father. He had never considered taking over the company until Marshall had suggested it... and the fact of the matter was that Marshall did not want to kill him. The jury was still out on these new people and Rob could still see the sight of Marshall fiercely fighting in order to keep Rob safe.

To feel sad for such a man as Marshall Mathers sent shivers up Rob's spine but he hated the fact that Marshall had been killed and left to rot in that small river. What did it say about Rob if he appreciated the company of Marshall Mathers over his own family?

There was a sudden click and a rush of light invaded the trunk, causing Rob to wince and cover his eyes. He didn't have a moment to get his bearings before somebody roughly grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the trunk to throw him against the dirt. Rob winced and peered at the one called Rivera who had that calm atmosphere about her that she hadn't lost even when she had shot Marshall in the chest with the shotgun that was strapped to her back. Her gleaming machete was held firm in her free hand.

"Gde my?" Rob asked as he looked around at the warehouses that surrounded them. It seemed there was no movement in this early morning but the sun shone over the low, corrugated buildings. As was her custom, Rivera completely ignored Rob and tugged him along as she stepped towards the front of the car. The tall, stoic Riddle stood with his arms crossed as he surveyed the area while the auburn-haired woman with mismatched eyes called Holly, a name Rob caught just before they had gotten into the car, stood away from both of her comrades, her broken nose an ugly mottled purple though the blood had been cleaned off. It was clear that she was still livid that her partner, Alpha, had been killed.

"This looks good," Riddle said as his ice-blue eyes analysed the area. "It is completely open so we will see anyone coming," he started walking towards the warehouse and Rivera followed, tugging Rob along. Holly brought up the rear still retaining her distance from her cohorts. Riddle reached a small door in the side of the warehouse and pulled at the handle. It rattled but otherwise didn't budge. "Holly."

Holly moved forward with a frown. "A glorified lock pick now, am I?" she muttered under her breath so low that only Rob had heard her – or least he thought it was only him until Riddle suddenly struck Holly with the back of his hand. Holly hadn't expected the blow at all and immediately drew her fingers up to her fragile nose. "Fuck!" she spat. She opened her mouth to say something else but at the cold look in Riddle's eyes she closed her mouth and simply glared at him. Moving over to the door she thrust her hand straight through the handle as if it were simply water. Rob watched, amazed. It was as if the door were an illusion or a hologram. Holly fiddled for a moment and then there was an audible click. She pulled her hand out of the door and stomped back away from Riddle and Rivera, wiping a small trickle of blood that had escaped from her nose after Riddle had slapped her.

The inside of the warehouse was filled with wooden crates and pallets that were stacked atop each other in long rows, each marked with a letter. It was definitely some kind of storage warehouse. Rob couldn't help but wonder if there would be workers arriving at some point in the day. He hoped that there wouldn't be – he had no doubt that these three people would kill them without a thought.

He had, at least, matched these extraordinary abilities with the three of them. Holly seemed to be able to move her body through objects as if there were nothing, including human bodies if the fight with Marshall was anything to go by; though she was able to get hit so it seemed that she had to have some measure of control over it. Rivera appeared out of thin air in front of Marshall though Rob didn't know whether this was invisibility or teleportation. Each seemed absolutely impossible. And then there was Riddle who had adjusted his voice and tone to match Marshall's. Was that the extent or could there somehow be more to his, and the other two's, abilities?

Rob found it unusual, almost alien, to be thinking about these powers as if they were superhuman but what else could they be? This certainly wasn't a dream and he had witnessed each of the abilities in action.

They walked in silence, Riddle in the lead, Rivera tugging Rob, and Holly stalking behind, going back and forth between the rows of pallets. There were two sets of stairs in the back corners that led up to a second level that had a number of rooms that looked like offices, staff rooms, and other supporting rooms. They reached a larger office that looked as if it belonged to a supervisor with a large desk and images of scantily-clad women hung on the walls. Clearly the manager was a sleazy type. Holly regarded them with disgust as Riddle walked over to the desk and sat on the edge of it.

His eyes suddenly connected to Rob's for the first time and Rob felt a jolt run through him. "Boy. Do you speak English?"

Rob licked his lips, the fear running over him again. "A-A little…" he muttered, his voice quivering. "S-Some."

Riddle's eyes narrowed at this answer as if it wasn't the answer he wanted. Nevertheless he reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch he had stolen from Marshall. He twisted the face of the watch just like before and stared at it until it started to buzz in his hand. Finally, a woman's voice could be heard.

"I told you not to call-"

"I've reached Berlin," Riddle interrupted in that perfect imitation of Marshall's American accent. "The kid's intact."

There was a slight pause before the woman on the other end replied, "Good job. I'll get in touch with the contact to arrange a time for the meet. You're at the Mandala hotel as requested?"

Without missing a beat, Riddle replied with the slight arrogant tone of Marshall's. "I've had a change of heart. I'm at a warehouse at the end of Merler Road. We'll have the meet there."

"Marshall," there was a warning tone to the woman's voice.

"I want this meet to be on my terms."

"Alright, Marshall. I'll contact you as soon as I got the time." With that the woman's voice clicked off and the watch stopped buzzing. Riddle nodded, apparently satisfied, and tucked the watch away. Then he pulled out something else – a small, ancient looking mobile. He clicked a few buttons and waited for five long seconds before speaking a single word into the mobile, "Azrael." He put the phone gently on the desk and jammed the heel of his hand into the phone, shattering it into small black pieces.

At this moment, with the apparent leader of the trio's back turned, Rob took a deep breath and managed to gather the last of his courage to jolt backwards, pulling his collar out of Rivera's grip.

 _Run!_ Rob screamed the word inside his own head as he scrambled out of the door and started running down one of the long corridors upstairs. He didn't dare turn back to see how the three would react. He could be seconds away from getting shot in the back but there was no pain, no gunshots, as he bounced down the stairs three at a time. He tripped and stumbled at the bottom of the stairs but fought back to his feet and sprinted down one of the long corridors. It seemed the unexpected movement worked in his favour. He couldn't hear a thing behind him as he sped for the door they had entered in.

He smashed it open with his shoulder and sucked in fresh air.

"Pomogite!" He screamed as loud as he could, his voice echoing through the morning air. The word barely left his lips before a hand grabbed the back of his neck. He gagged as he was pulled back through the door. He was thrown roughly to the floor and he stared up at Rivera with wide eyes. Holly was there, closing the door, and Riddle was there as well. All three looked down at Rob and he could feel that fear sneaking up his spine again.

"It is a shame," Riddle said. "I fully intended to keep you in tact by the end of the day. All you had to do, Robert, was remain as you were." He glanced to Rivera. "Cut out his tongue."

Rob's eyes widened. "K-Kakiye?!" Rob tried to shuffle back but Rivera stomped hard on his hand with her boot. His eyes watered and he tried fruitlessly to pull his hand away. Then she crouched down over Rob with the machete gleaming in her hand. "N-Net! N-Nado, N-Nado, Net! NET!" The terror bubbled in his stomach but the calm Rivera seemed not to care. She was really going to do it! Rob shut his mouth as tight as he possibly could but Rivera lowered her free hand over his lips. She pushed one finger in, then another, breaking the seal easily before suddenly grabbing Rob's tongue with the two fingers in a pincer grip.

Tears ran down Rob's cheeks but he could only make garbled noises now with his tongue in Rivera's grasp. She pulled as much as she could until the pain pulsed in the front of Rob's throat. He pleaded with Rivera with his eyes, looking at her own dark eyes.

Then she swung the machete.

Rob's head fell back and bounced against the concrete floor. He was too shocked to do anything as he felt blood bubble in his mouth before sliding down his throat. He started to gurgle and choke before Rivera grabbed his shoulder and tipped him on his side, letting the blood gush out onto the floor instead of in his throat. Rob could only shake, the pain slowly overtaking the shock as Rivera flicked the ugly muscle of his tongue to the floor.

Riddle leaned down and picked it up. He looked at Rob again and for the first time Rob saw glee in Riddle's eyes. "Perhaps I'll box this up and send this to your father, if only to see him squirm. I hope you have learned your place, boy. We may need you alive but we don't need you whole. Keep that in mind."


	33. The Last Hour

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

 **The Last Hour**

 _08:00 CET_

 _Grebs, Germany_

 _1 Hour Remaining_

The small town of Grebs flashed past as Rose drove the Tepee silently across the A2 motorway, only an hour from Berlin now and the knowledge that her uncle would soon run out of oxygen made her clench her fingers on the steering wheel until they turned white. She knew that she shouldn't really be driving with how tired she was but she had no choice. They needed to reach Berlin and finally make the next move with the survivors they had managed to gather once Jamie made it back from England.

They had been successful where she had not been and Rose felt the inability of getting Jenna to go with them strongly. It ate away at her that they had to leave her behind but what choice did they have? They couldn't deal with the police – not only would it have slowed them down but it would also have told Evrard and the DSI their positions and all of Siddharth's hard work would have been thrown out of the window.

Siddharth had been communicating with Tanzi on his laptop in order to keep up to date with everything and had been frustrated when he had received the phone call from Axel to find out information on the Sanders family. There was something about communicating with mobiles that was lot less safe than communicating via the laptop though Rose couldn't be certain what made it so risky. As far as she could tell the two seemed equally risky but she trusted Siddharth and knew that any techno-babble he was talking about would be the truth.

"When do you want to meet with Marshall and Robert?" Siddharth suddenly asked, breaking the silence of Rose's thoughts. "The handler just got in contact with me. Marshall wants to meet at a warehouse in Berlin, though, not the Mandala Hotel. Do you want me to press her on sticking with the location?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "We can't risk displeasing them and losing our chance. I don't see why we can't meet them there. As long as we can talk to Marshall Mathers and explain the situation to him."

"You think he'll just work with us?"

"No idea," Rose just shook her head. "I'll just be happy if he doesn't shoot us." From what little information Siddharth had managed to gather on Marshall Mathers proved that the agency he worked for acted in assassination, kidnapping, trafficking, and a whole host of jobs for the highest bidder. Whatever the agency had one of the best network defences Rose had known as Siddharth couldn't get into their files to investigate further – a fact which had infuriated Siddharth. He didn't like being kept from information he wanted.

That frustration only mixed with Siddharth's frustration that he had found no new hints on where the Chalice of Life was hidden in the Al-Sharqiyya desert nor made any progress with getting into the dark web of the DSI's data to research the Totems. It showed in an unexpected irritated streak that Rose hadn't seen in the usually jovial man before. Siddharth made less and less small talk as the time went by and more than a few times she heard hisses and curses in his native language that were long and no doubt graphical.

 _Stars twinkled in the distance, looking no closer than ever before. He spoke words, broken and dulled. "…Will… Family… Mike…" The rattle of a last breath rolled up from his lungs. A padded white knee hit the metallic white floor. Fire burned in his lungs, searching for a breath that wouldn't come. Pulsing, beating, drumming… silence._

Rose let out a sharp breath and her hands twisted involuntarily on the wheel. The car shook and she barely managed to twist the wheel to correct the car back on the road.

"What's wrong?!" Siddharth leaned forward as he nursed his shoulder from the sudden movement and subsequent bashing in the car door. "Rose?"

"…It's going to happen soon…" Rose murmured, feeling something bubbling in her stomach. She stared up through the windscreen to the blue of the morning sky and knew that somewhere up there her uncle, William Milano, was going to take his last breath.

* * *

 _08:05 CET_

 _Netzen, Germany_

As the car swerved left, Sam had the awful feeling that Rose was about to crash straight into the steel barrier before the Tepee righted itself. She frowned underneath the helmet and focused in on the car. Rose had been driving for an awful long time now and though they were near Berlin she knew that Rose wouldn't be able to go on for much longer. On a quick rest stop she had inquired with Siddharth about why he didn't drive but he merely said that he didn't have a license. It seemed strange to Sam that a man the age of Siddharth wouldn't have a license but she supposed there was nothing for it.

They were nearly there, at least, though Sam wasn't certain what was going to happen. She knew of Rose's intentions and knew she wanted to end the List but as far as Sam could see it didn't seem to be a simple task. Getting the survivors together was one thing but… well, what then? Would they try and go back to those who they couldn't persuade, like Jenna? It seemed to Sam that Rose hadn't tried her absolute best in getting Jenna to come. Police shouldn't have been an issue – after all, Rose had saved Jenna. Yet they had left. Were Rose and Siddharth just picking and choosing who they wanted to take with them or was there something else they weren't telling her?

Sam didn't like to doubt them but there it was, niggling in the back of her mind. This whole thing was crazy and it seemed like it was all hanging on a fence of truth and lies. Sam doubted she'd be able to follow them for much longer if things kept up as they were. Maybe it WAS all a lie. They had lied about her mother. What was to say they weren't lying about Death and the List? But why _would_ they lie about that to a complete stranger? Sam's thoughts were rife was uneasiness as she continued to follow the Tepee through the chill morning air.

* * *

 _08:10 CET_

 _Cologne, Germany_

"Das ist alles was ich weiß," Jenna Weisler finished reporting to the police about everything that had happened. The three drunk men had been apprehended and taken away while Jenna and her sister were questioned, though she refused to let Wanda be questioned alone. The police were making her nervous and Jenna didn't want her to have a panic attack.

"Du weißt nichts mehr über das Mädchen?" The police officer asked with a strained tone.

"Nein," Jenna replied, equally strained. It wasn't the first time he had asked the question nor was it the first time she had replied 'no'. "Ich habe dir alles gesagt, was ich weiß. Wirst du mich und meine Schwester in Ruhe lassen?"

The police officer looked at her before sighing and nodded. "Okay. Wenn Ihnen etwas einfällt oder Sie sich an etwas erinnern, nehmen Sie bitte Kontakt mit uns auf." With that the officer stood up and left the room, finally leaving Jenna and Wanda alone. Jenna simply sat with her sister and stroked her hair while Wanda pushed in close, nuzzling up to her like a kitten. Jenna stared at the floor where a small dribble of blood from the mysterious woman named Rose Milano had been left. Just who was she and why had she come to her house? She had taken care of those men like they were nothing with moves that Jenna had never seen. But she couldn't worry about this Rose or what she was here for. Wanda needed her more at this moment and Jenna knew that she couldn't leave her alone, not even to follow her dreams.

* * *

 _08:15 CET_

 _Vienna, Austria_

Walking across the school grounds, Sebastian wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back home. But was contending with the bullying of Lukas worth contending with the violence of his father? It was always like this, this feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. He watched other students mingle with each other, laughing at each other's jokes and playfully throwing banter back and forth. Sebastian shrugged his backpack tighter on his back, wishing more than anything he could be like them.

If only it were so easy.

Yet it was not and it would not be. Sebastian knew he would have to fight through the years of school until he was an adult and could get a job but could he last that far? Could he last days upon days of torture? It seemed less a question of whether he could reach that far but more of a question of who would stop him: Lukas or his father.

A shiver ran up Sebastian's spine and he pulled the straps closer together, ducking his head and continuing to move, hoping to make it to tutor without encountering Lukas or any of his friends. Really, he didn't want to encounter anyone and he knew no one wanted to look at him either. To be friends with Sebastian meant to be enemies with Lukas and no one was willing to make that trade.

* * *

 _08:20 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Books lay strewn over the desk in haphazard piles as Professor Johann Schneider poured over the books. A notebook lay on his lap and every so often he would copy a quote or a new bit of information he had discovered that related to the situation at hand. He hadn't researched anything so strongly for such a long time that Johann couldn't stop the smile on his face as he transcribed and researched the information.

A soft knock on the door made him look up and Johann took the moment to stretch his wrist from all the writing. "Come in," he answered in smooth English.

The door opened and Bethany Cross stepped in, accompanied by the compelling smell of Irish coffee that was coming from the mug in her hand. Johann smiled at her. "You found my collection of coffee, I see. Are you enjoying the taste?" There was no accusation in his voice, only friendly conversation.

"It's not for me, but for you. You've been up all night haven't you?" Bethany offered the mug to Johann and Johann accepted it, taking a small sip of the hot but not scalding coffee.

"Mmm… Perfection. You make a wonderful coffee, my dear. While I certainly appreciate the gesture I do not need caffeine to keep me going." The professor gestured to his chaotic desk. "Information is the key to keeping awake."

"I never could keep much information in my brain," Bethany admitted with a soft smile as she looked around at the books. Back when she had been at school she had always found it hard to concentrate on studying. That was more Kingsley's department. Her niche was always in music and that was that.

"Now, now, do not speak like that," Johann shook his head with an almost disappointed expression. "You write the songs for your band, do you not?"

"I do…?" Bethany was suddenly confused by his line of questions.

"Do you write these songs out of thin air?"

"I—"

"Or do you _research_ the information you need to create the words?" Johann took another sip as he looked at Bethany's astonished expression. It seemed she had never thought of it like that. "Research is the spice of life, Miss Cross, no matter your profession."

* * *

 _07:25 GMT_

 _Donahughe Tunnel, Irish Sea_

Leslie absently watched the walls of the five-year tunnel that extended from Bray to Pwllhei turn into a blur as the columns brushed by. The silence in the car was stifling but both Jamie and Tanzi had been silent other than the momentary comment ever since he had woken up. Jamie was driving as Axel was in the car behind them with the Sanders family though Leslie didn't quite understand why.

All he knew was that something was on Jamie and Tanzi's minds and he wished he knew what he could do to make it a little bit more bearable. But they were strangers – what could he say? He wished more than anything that he could talk to Ruby but he also didn't want to bug her every time he felt out of sorts. He didn't want to worry her more than necessary and he knew this List and Death was worrying her enough. Ruby was always like that – supporting others at the cost of her own health.

The journey ahead of them was going to be a long one as they were heading all the way to Berlin. In a way, Leslie was excited. It wouldn't be a holiday by any means but it would be something foreign, somewhere away from England. Sure, Ireland was _technically_ not England but from the brief time Leslie had been in Dublin it didn't seem a whole lot more different than Eastbourne, really.

There was a small _ding_ and almost immediately Tanzi flipped open the laptop that she had been nursing on her lap.

"Oh," Tanzi said for a moment, her expression grim. "It's going to start soon, Jamie. Rose had the clue to William's death."

"I see," Jamie's tone was forced and she had answered far too quickly though Leslie didn't know why. Who was William? Jamie's expression was set in stone as she descended back into much more tension filled silence.

"So I didn't get the clue…" Tanzi murmured, looking at the palm of her gloved hand. "The vision really was because I touched her…" Then she closed her fist and turned to her seat to look at Leslie. "Leslie… The List Ruby and I talked to you about… It's going to happen soon, okay? I need you to keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary. If we're to make sure we survive our trip to Berlin we need to avoid any accidents."

* * *

 _07:30 GMT_

 _Donahughe Tunnel, Irish Sea_

If the silence in the Citroën was tense, it was nothing compared to silence that reigned in the Sanders family car. Axel was driving, glancing over at Patrick Sanders every so often. Patrick himself stayed absolutely focused on the road ahead, pointedly ignoring his wife and children squeezed into the passenger seats behind them. Marianna sat between the stoic Derek and the sickly green Alisha who had run out of stomach contents to spew and was now dry-heaving whenever the urge to vomit hit her.

Derek hated this whole situation. He hated this man, Axel, who had taken control of the Sanders family as if they were nothing. He hated the two women, Jamie and Tanzi, who had come into their house and torn everything apart. More than anything, though, Derek found that he hated his father, who had kept so much from them and was keeping so much from them.

Every so often in the last couple of hours Derek had thrown questions at Patrick but Patrick had refused to answer his son. Alisha was too sick and Marianna too scared so that left Derek to try and get the answers but it simply wasn't working. He could feel an unconditional anger that he rarely felt rising up within him. He wanted to scream and shout at his father and a part of him wanted to hit his father though he knew that he would never be able to do such a thing.

Derek had always respected his father. The man had always been there when he had needed advice and had always been up-front about his wife and daughter who lived far away. He had taken in Alisha but now it seemed all so… manufactured. How much of what Patrick said was true? All the respect had been shattered and Derek wanted more than anything to pick up the pieces and put them back together but he suspected that nothing would ever be the same for the Sanders family.

* * *

 _08:35 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Rob was in so much pain that he seriously wanted to just end it right then and there. His face was tear and snot-stained, his trousers were wet with urine, and his lips covered in cracked blood. It was a horrible feeling through the pain to be able to move the bottom of his tongue but not have it rest on the bottom of his mouth. Riddle had seared the bleeding end of his tongue shut and Rob could still smell the burning flesh.

Why did it have to be like this? Only yesterday he had been by the swimming pool learning lessons from the beautiful Anastasiya Amelina and now he was cowering in the corner with criminals – no, not criminals – monsters. They had powers beyond belief and they had cut out his tongue without even thinking about it. He supposed he ought to be glad that he was even breathing but why should he?

Riddle had made it clear that they intended to use Rob for some purpose and so much fear ran through Rob's brain as he tried to think on just what it was they wanted to use him for. Yet he wouldn't – he couldn't – move. If he did even one small thing that they hadn't told him to do what would they do next? They just wanted him alive so what was to stop them for taking fingers or arms or legs or anything else? So he could only sit in the corner and cut himself off from the world, wishing against everything that it would be over, that he could be back at that swimming pool.

Maybe if he wished it hard enough then it would all be a dream. A dream without monsters, where Marshall Mathers was simply a security guard, where everything was normal and good and peaceful.

* * *

 _08:40 CET_

 _Santander, Spain_

Adrian and Seth were waiting in the line that led to the entrance of the plane terminal where they would soon be boarding. Unfortunately the flight had been delayed due to extended searches of handheld baggage so the line was slowly filtering in bit by bit. A few titterings from the crowd had mentioned that there was some kind of threat though Adrian fully expected this was a matter of Chinese whispers.

"Urgh… I'm so bored…" Seth bemoaned as the bright Spanish sun shone through the wide windows of the terminal. "At this point I will actually appreciate the cramped seats."

"I still say we just leave and never even go on the plane," Adrian said with a half-joking half-serious tone. "Hell, we can busk. I'll hold the hat and you can dance for the crowd."

"While I won't deny I am an _amazing_ dancer, that idea sucks," Seth laughed as they moved one step closer to the terminal. "What if you do the dancing? Ah, wait, that's a terrible idea. You dance as well as I sing and we ALL know how I sing."

* * *

 _08:45 CET_

 _Daniszew, Poland_

Lorry drivers and bemused passengers stared each them a vehicle passed the figure in his constant movement as he sprinted down the side of the road showing no sign of stopping, never once wavering in his pace. One hand clutched the stub of his other arm close to his chest while the man's jaw was set, every vein in his forehead stretched to breaking point.

If they were to look closer they would see the bright blue in Marshall Mather's eyes as he ran with intense focus with only one goal on his drug-addled mind – get to the people who took his quarry and slaughter them.

* * *

 _Escape shuttle, Space_

William Milano slowly stood up. He could feel it in his limbs, his chest, his lungs… he was slowing down. The end was near. Every breath was painful and his eyes felt heavy. Cold sweat ran down his forehead as he slowly stepped across the metallic floor of the escape shuttle hurtling through space and away from Earth to the small communication equipment inlaid on the side. He pressed a button, drew in a fragile breath, and spoke:

"I had… intended to continue my story…" He spoke in a voice that belied the effect of deprived oxygen. "…I don't think I can. My wife… Evie…" William leaned forward and placed the visor of his helmet against the metal wall. "Can tell the rest… I suppose…" He drew in another painful breath, ignoring the faint beeping on his wrist. He was also trying to ignore the faint pulsing in his head. "Consider this… my will… I leave everything to her, to my daughter Marianne… to them both… I request… that… the DSI stay away from them… please…" Another breath. The pulsing turned to thudding. "I… know… Mike has a will at his home… so… find it… read it… for him, for his family, for… for Rose…" The thudding pounded and pounded as it started to beat on his skull. "…Evie… Marianne…" He had tried to be strong for so long but he knew that this was it and couldn't prevent the tear from sliding down his cheek inside his mask. "…I love… you…"

 _I wish I could see you grow up,_ Will thought as he pulled away from the equipment. _To see you smile, to see you laugh, to see you love… to tell stupid tales at your wedding and to dance stupid dances on the floor… Mikey told me I had the best dad dancing in the whole wide world… well, jokes him, I guess… I'm outta the world now…_ The tears came strong as Will took a breath – a breath that wouldn't come. The fire filled his lungs and he fell to one knee, fingers curling in his gloves. _Who'd have thought it, Mikey, that it would come to this… damn, Mikey… you had it quick, you had it nice and quick… I never was as lucky as you, Mikey, nah… You get a second, maybe two… Me? Me, I get a full twenty-four bloody hours of… well… I can't be mad… I…_

William Milano fell to the side, his helmet thudding off the metal floor, a crack instantly spider-webbing up as he lay there, motionless, alone, dead.


	34. Interlude - Sandstorm

**Interlude**

 **Sandstorm**

Moving through the north-eastern Sahara desert on foot was as difficult as Zeina Morcos had expected. The loose sand shifted under her feet almost making her trip every few steps, the robes she wore to block out the sun flowed in the wind that spat sand at her veiled face. The constant immensity of the desert made her miscalculate where she was going and more often than not she would lose her footing and tumble down a small dune before having to pick herself up again.

Far in front of her walked Death, his robes billowing around him as he walked the desert with familiar ease. Next to him walked Bobby Yates who had taken his father's dress sense and was wearing dark robes that looked strange on him. Throughout the whole journey thus far Bobby had been regaling his father with stories and Death had seemed only more than happy to listen. He smiled and even laughed at some of the things his son said. It seemed like the more time Death spent among humans the more human-like he became. Though the things Zeina had overheard when they were on the plane were as mystifying as Death himself. Bobby spoke of dying as if it were nothing at all.

She peered up at the blue sky dotted with clouds and couldn't help but wonder whether the agent of Talon had somehow managed to follow her here. Was the man somewhere in this desert? There were no vehicles in the sky and Zeina had heard nothing mechanical during the trek they were undergoing. It would have been foolish for the man to go into the desert alone so Zeina did not hold out much in the way of hope.

"No one is going to find you here," a voice spoke from behind Zeina and Zeina turned to look at the fourth member of their small party – the pale and white-haired Marianne who had been Bobby's companion until he stayed at his father's side. Zeina could tell that Marianne resented this lack of attention even though she barely showed it on her face. She was having as much trouble traversing the sands as Zeina was.

"I was merely appreciating the sky," Zeina spoke to Marianna as they made their way down another dune. Zeina had no clue as to where Death was leading them though it at least seemed like he knew where they were going.

"At a time like this?"

"When else to appreciate it?" Zeina asked. "It seems to me you could do with relaxing."

"Relaxing is to let down my guard," Marianne's icy-blue eyes looked at Bobby's back far in the distance. "I will not."

"If he truly is the son of death then I doubt he needs your protection," Zeina noted and saw Marianna's mouth turn into a thin line. "I expect he doesn't want it anymore, either."

Marianna turned away and didn't deign to respond to Zeina, instead changing the subject. "You work for the DSI?"

"If you expect me to reveal information by casual conversation then you ought to do a better job at disguising your motivations." The ends of Marianne's lips twitched into a frown. She raised her hand and stared pointedly at Zeina. Zeina only matched Marianne's gaze as they walked. "Whatever it is you can do, I know Bobby told you not to do it. So I suggest you follow your orders like a good little soldier."

"I'm not his—"

"Would you lay down your life for his?" Zeina asked.

"Of course."

"You follow his orders?"

"Yes."

"That makes you a soldier. A puppet. And he's pulling your strings." Zeina shook her head. "I've known the two of you for a very small amount of time but I can already see the type of character Robert Yates is." Then she pulled her gaze away and looked back up to the sky. There, far in the horizon, she could see what looked like black clouds. Rain was rare but not unheard of. It would certainly make the trek across the desert that much more uncomfortable. "And I know what kind of character you are, Marianne."

Marianne snorted. "Is this where you try and act the good guy? Try and persuade me to work for you, to betray Bobby and Death?" Marianna just laughed. "Save your breath."

"The fact that that is the first thing that comes to mind tells me all I need to know, Marianne. I would suggest leaving right now. He calls himself Death for a reason and nothing but destruction follows in his wake. I suspect that when we reach wherever it is we are going that both of our lives are forfeit. Death has Bobby and Bobby has Death. The two of us are just the third and fourth wheel now." Zeina shook her head. "A father and son have no use for the likes of us, not anymore. We played our roles."

"Speak for yourself," Marianne said and descended into stubborn silence. Zeina knew that neither Death or Bobby had asked Marianne to keep watch over her but she supposed Marianne was taking the job for herself to make it seem like she was doing something useful.

Staring back at those dark clouds Zeina suddenly stopped, her heels digging into the sand. Something was extremely wrong. The black clouds were moving almost impossibly fast. They weren't on the horizon any more – they looked only a few miles away now.

"What is _that_?" Marianne asked as she came to a stop beside Zeina then the desert was plunged into a bleak shadow as the clouds soared overhead with that startling speed. Death and Bobby Yates were both lost in the darkness and Zeina could barely make out Marianne. Zeina raised her palm open to the sky and felt a few drops of water splash off her palm.

Then the skies opened up.

The rain pelted down in thick pellets, crashing down upon Zeina and Marianna. It felt like stones were being thrown at them and the two covered their heads as they instantly became drenched. The robes weighed down as they became quenched with water.

"What is this?!" Marianna shouted by her voice whipped away on the ever increasing wind. The rain came from all directions and the sound and force of the wind was unbearable. The sand lifted and tossed over itself as if it was alive and soon both Marianna and Zeina lost their footing. They tumbled down a dune as the sky suddenly lit up with a spider-web of lightning and the great rumble of thunder. Zeina scrambled to her feet and just as the sky lit up again with lightning saw a figure standing on a dune high above them with his arms spread out.

The two rushed forward, pushing through the rain and sand and wind. It was an almost impossible task. The wind was so strong that had it not been for their heavy robes Zeina felt like they would have been tossed up into the air. The sand constantly shifted which meant they had to practically crawl their way until they finally came across Bobby Yates and Death himself, who both had come to a stop and was staring up at the figure.

A lightning strike smashed down only inches in front of Bobby, sending a cascade of sand bursting up over his face. Bobby wiped his drenched face and yelled, "THAT FUCKIN' GUY HAS AN ABILITY! HE'S CONTROLLING THE WEATHER!"

"Not control. Influence," Death's voice was loud but he spoke as calm as ever. "The strikes of lightning are random."

"WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"We—" but whatever Death was going to say was interrupted by a great roar of wind that overtook everything. Zeina could only stare in horror as a great plume of clouds swirled down from the black sky and a funnel of sand shot up from the dunes ahead of them, forming a great cyclone of sand, wind, and rain. It must have easily been the girth of a football stadium. A flash of lightning burst through the air again and Zeina saw the figure move his hands forward.

The cyclone was upon them and Zeina found herself whipped off her feet. She was spinning and spinning, tumbling over herself, not knowing where up and down were anymore. She heard the very fleeting scream that could have been Marianne, caught the faint gleam of a ring that could have been Death, but she was getting higher and higher, faster and faster, her body was pulled at every angle and the wind was roaring in her ears. She could smell something coppery in all the tumultuous rage and knew that someone's blood had just spattered across her face. Her senses were mixing, her mouth was open yet she made no noise, and everything rolled into one frantic, confusing, crazed mix of disaster.

* * *

Coughing up sand, Zeina shakily pushed her way to all fours. Everything seemed to have gone back to normal; the sky was blue, the sand was still, and the wind only mild. It was almost like the storm had been nothing but a mirage but she knew that the intense aching in her bones and the sand in her lungs was not a part of her imagination. She slowly stood up and stared all around the desert. She saw absolutely nothing.

Death, Bobby, Marianna, there was nobody. Were they even alive? She supposed Death must be but what about the others? Zeina wiped a finger across her nose and looked at the blood she had felt hit her earlier. It wasn't hers, so whose was it?

With a small sigh Zeina started walking north, very tempted to strip off her sodden robes even though baring herself under the desert sun would be a very bad idea. The fabric was already slowly drying as she started her aching walk back to find some semblance of civilisation. The last thing she wanted was to die alone in the desert after everything that had happened.

* * *

Ash Orwell walked purposely forward through the sand, the fringe of his raven hair disguising his equally dark eyes. The job had been done – the four had been separated – and now it was time to go back. He walked for almost ten minutes before finally stopping at a strange concrete triangle no bigger than a pint glass. He raised his hand and used the wind to slowly dig out around the edges of the triangle, digging a trench that grew larger and larger until a small sandstone pyramid was revealed. The sand swirled lazily around Ash as he climbed down the trench towards a wooden hatch.

He pushed it open, slid inside, and allowed the sand to fall back down, burying the pyramid again until only the tip could be seen. He walked down the cramped tunnel until he passed a flickering flame which lit up another corridor – larger and easier to traverse. He walked down this one and followed a series of passages with expert precision, ignoring the many other offshoots that disappeared into intense darkness. Finally he emerged out into a large chamber that he knew was at the base of the pyramid.

The edge of the chamber was lined neatly with vases, jars, and crates that Ash knew contained the wealth of the occupant of the stone sarcophagus in the middle of the room. It was at this sarcophagus that a figure was leaning over, patiently working a long silver knife in between the cracks.

"That sounded like quite the ruckus," the figure said with the air of faint amusement.

"It wore me out," Ash replied as he approached the figure. "I won't be able to keep them away again."

"That's okay." The figure gave a particular jerk on the knife and a drizzle of dust fell at her feet. She let the knife clatter to the floor and grabbed the edge of the sarcophagus lid. "Help me with this." Ash obeyed and grabbed the other end of the lid. Together the two of them strained and slowly pushed the lid of the sarcophagus to the side where it slid with the floor with a thud. The two of them stared inside the sarcophagus and the figure smiled. "It's all going to plan. Willow will reach them soon and we can finally end this…"

The figure reached inside the sarcophagus and pulled an exquisite golden knife out from the mummified grip of Shishak Kaka. She held it in front of her face and examined the detailed markings and hieroglyphs. "And this will _let_ me end it." Paige Calloway's eyes flashed with triumph as she looked to Ash past the ornate knife. "With this I can kill Death."


	35. A Family Torn Apart

**Chapter Thirty**

 **A Family Torn Apart**

 _08:55 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"He's dead," Rose's voice was hollow as she said the words, staring up at the now bright sky.

"You don't know that," Sam put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Rose said softly, looking at Sam. "But William was in an escape pod with falling oxygen. He's past the limit." Rose exhaled slowly and repeated, "He's dead."

Rose had pulled the car to a stop just as they had entered Berlin. The drive in between the vision about William that she had had in the car between getting to the side of the road now had been a haze. All she knew was that something in her brain clicked the moment it had happened. It hadn't been too long ago, maybe only a few minutes, but her uncle had passed away up there in that escape pod, so far away from the planet he was born and raised on.

For a moment, the grief of it threatened to overwhelm her. It didn't seem fair that both William and Mike had to die up there so far away from their families. Mike's body would never be buried, William's ashes would never be scattered… they were lost. Completely and utterly lost. Was that the fate of all Milanos? To be lost, to die alone? Then a question came to Rose, a question that she had never asked Jamie back when everything had seemed easier and hopeful before William's death nailed in the reality of the situation. Had her mother died alone? Had she seen Jamie before her neck snapped at the bottom of that stairwell?

Then the next question rose up and threatened to boil over. Would _she_ die alone?

"We gotta move," Siddharth's voice was as soft as Sam's as he stepped beside Rose. "We should get to Johann and the Skyhawks as soon as possible."

"Give her a moment," Sam said, surprised at Siddharth's insensitivity. It was clear that Rose was grieving and she had only been out of the car for a few minutes.

"No, Sam, it's alright," Rose took in a deep breath and she forced her worries and fears away to a small part of her heart. "We should move. With William… gone, there is nothing to stop the List. We need to get everyone that we have together to form a plan." Rose started making her way to the car. "Siddharth, you mentioned earlier that you had arranged the meeting with Marshall. Obviously I was…distracted. When do we meet?"

"I've arranged it for tomorrow morning. That way Jamie and the others will be back and then we can all go meet them. I know you'd want to do the meet as soon as possible but they're going to need their rest after such a long journey there and back again."

"It makes sense," Rose nodded and turned to Sam. "If you follow us—"

 _Staring out the window was the grey streaks of the wall that made up the tunnel. Flashes of cars zooming past to and fro to their destinations. The tension was thick within the car. The mother was shaking, the sister's fists were clenched, the father was pointedly ignoring everyone, the driver was focused on the road. A sigh escaped the brother's furious breath. Unbeknownst to his gaze a crack in the wall, extending upwards. Shoddy workmanship, rusted bolts, the pressure of the sea pushing down…_

Rose's knuckles were white as she gripped the car door, leaning against it. Sam was there again, looking concerned as a drip of sweat ran down Rose's cheek. "That was… sooner than I had expected…" Rose breathed.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, her helmet under her arm. Rose ignored the question and looked to Siddharth.

"Get in contact with Jamie and the rest. The Donahughe Tunnel is going to collapse, they need to get out of there as soon as possible!"

* * *

 _08:01 GMT_

 _Donahughe Tunnel, Irish Sea_

The Donahughe Tunnel that extended from Bray, Ireland to Pwllhei, Wales had been openly criticised as being a rushed job. Once Ireland had become a fully cooperative country and officially joined the United Kingdom as one, the tunnel had been made to provide a quick and easy way to get trade goods across the channel between the two countries. However a leaked report had claimed that the tunnel had been made from counterfeit materials that wouldn't be able to hold up at the depth it was in for very long but both governments denied this completely. The prime minister had promised to look it over but nothing had ever come from her apparent investigation.

It seemed, however, that the report had been true as the water pressure had slowly ate away at the materials and dissolved the shoddy workmanship. Finally, after the five years since it had been constructed, the damage had been done and a small fragment of the concrete ceiling, no more than a centimetre in diameter, opened up and the small trickle of water fell through to drip against the window of the Sanders family car. Alisha didn't notice the small splash of water as her shoulders heaved and she spat a small amount of liquid into her bucket.

The car journey certainly wasn't helping her sickness and her stomach felt like it was burning. She felt so miserable that she couldn't even protest as Marianna gently rubbed between her shoulders. Usually Alisha would deny any kind of affection from her stepmother and it wasn't unusual for Alisha to spit venom at Marianne. Marianne, to her credit, would never respond in kind but Marianne was always kind yet timid, a kitten to Alisha's lion.

She could barely even look at her father who had kept so many secrets from her. He was a complete stranger now and Alisha had never felt more alone. Patrick was her father and had been a small anchor when she had been thrust upon his family. She had always felt like a fish out of water between Derek and Marianne, who both were as different to Alisha as they could be, but Patrick had bridged that gap… or at least, Alisha thought he did.

The sharp tone of a mobile cut through the car and Alisha looked up as the bastard Axel looked down momentarily, evidently taken aback. The man must've been deep in his own thoughts though Alisha couldn't think what someone like him had to keep on his mind. She hated Axel nearly as much as her own father – he had been the catalyst who had torn the family apart. In a way she was glad that he had revealed the truth but on the other hand she absolutely despised it.

A splash of water suddenly hit the windscreen as if someone had thrown a bucket of water on it. Axel looked to it in surprise, ignoring the phone, when a great slab of concrete smashed hard into the bonnet of the Sanders' car with enough force to send the car to a brutal stop. Two airbags shot out into Axel and Patrick's faces but Alisha didn't have any time to connect the dots as a torrent of water crashed down following the concrete.

* * *

 _08:03 GMT_

"Shit!" Jamie watched the water explode downwards to cover the family car ten metres behind them. Tanzi was on her phone, staring with shocked eyes. She had only just received the warning from Siddharth but she had never expected it to happen so quickly. Now there was a waterfall of water cascading down on the stopped car.

"Stop the car," Tanzi turned to Jamie.

"Don't be stupid!" Jamie gritted her teeth as she drove forward, the Sanders and Axel falling behind. "Look at the ceiling!" Jamie motioned to the ceiling where more segments were falling in, capsized by the water. The full force of the ocean above them was pushing down. The horns of cars blared as panic started to set in on the morning traffic in the tunnel. One van tried to circle around the Sanders car but misjudged the width and came to a grating stop, blocking one lane. It didn't take long for the other lane to jam up as more and more cars tried to escape.

"We can't leave them behind!" Leslie called from the passenger seat, craning his neck to watch the collapse unfold. "I thought we were meant to save them?" His breathing was rapid as fear took refuge in his heart.

"We save who we can, when we can," Jamie said with determination as she sped up. They were starting to rise slowly now, reaching the end of the tunnel. Axel and the Sanders were long gone now but the ceiling was crashing down behind them as if following them. Water gushed in and washed away from them, down the incline. "I have to concentrate on who I have with me, Leslie, and that's you. Besides, Axel might be able to do something. It isn't over for them yet."

* * *

 _08:05 GMT_

It had happened in an instant and everything had turned a deep dark blue as the tunnel collapsed upon them and the sea swallowed them. The car was already halfway filled up and Derek was trying to wrench his seatbelt out to help his family. Patrick was scrambling like an animal, trying to kick at the door.

"Dad, don't!" Derek said in panic. If his father kicked open the door then the water would flood in even quicker and give them even less of a chance of survival. Derek looked to his sister and mother and saw with a pang of joy that Alisha was trying to help Marianne out of the seatbelt. "We'll need to push open the doors together," Derek said as the water rose up to his chest, rolling back and forth. "Dad, are you listening to me?!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Patrick was in a world of his own as he continually slammed his foot against the door.

"Dad!" Derek reached forward but it was too late. Patrick kicked open his door and just like that the remaining air in the car was instantly filled with water. Derek clenched his mouth shut and watched with fury as his father pushed away from the car, abandoning his wife and his children. Turning his attention back on his seatbelt he finally wrenched the seatbelt out. He motioned to Alisha, whose lips were equally sealed, and then to her door. Alisha understood and started kicking at the door but she was a lot less successful than Patrick had been.

Marianne was shaking in the chill of the water and Derek turned his attention to her as Alisha tried to beat against the door. He silently looked at her, his eyes stinging, and tried to will her to hold on. Her long hair was spread out above her like tiny eels and the fear was evident in her eyes. It seemed like she hadn't taken the chance to breathe in a good lungful of that remaining air and it was obvious she was struggling.

Derek looked back over to Alisha whose attempts at getting the door open were completely fruitless. Then a shadow flitted on Alisha's window and for a crazed, mad moment no doubt caused by the fear running through his body Derek thought it was a shark but then he saw the flash of blue eyes and the determined expression of Axel. Derek was confused; why would he go out of his way to try and save them?

The door was suddenly ripped off its hinges and Derek's eyes widened and he almost forgot to hold his breath. Axel threw the door backwards as if pulling it off had taken no strength at all and reached in to pull Alisha out. Still holding her wrist, Axel pointed up, clearly telling Alisha to go while she could. She nodded and kicked her feet hard, soon disappearing in the murkiness.

Marianne was next and she gratefully grabbed Axel's extended hand. He effortlessly pulled her out of the sunken car and once again pointed up to follow Alisha. However this time Axel's eyes widened slightly. He looked directly into Derek's eyes and Derek knew that something was wrong. Just as this thought hit him the broken yet standing wall had tipped, crashing against the car in slow motion and snapping clean in two, folding over both open doors as if it was intent on keeping Derek in the car.

Marianne let out an involuntary gasp as her son was trapped in the car and sucked in a lungful of water. She immediately started writhing and Axel pulled in close. He looked at Derek through the windshield of the car and Derek desperately motioned for him to take his mother away. She couldn't die down here because of his father. For a moment Derek saw what looked like sorrow on the big man's face who had threatened the lives of his family before Axel kicked away as fast as he could as Marianne writhed in his arms.

Derek watched them go and knew that his time was up. He wouldn't be able to push the concrete away from either side of the car. He was pinned down. Nevertheless he knew that he would have to try. He pushed against the concrete blocking Alisha's doorway as hard as he could, but he could get no strength behind his arms as his legs floated behind him. He braced them against the opposite door and then pushed forward, slamming his shoulder into the concrete. The pain lanced through his body but Derek didn't care. He tried again, and again, knowing it was fruitless but not allowing himself to give up.

His lungs were burning and Derek felt dizzy, his vision fading. He slammed into the concrete again and watched beads of blood dissolve into the water. He had cut his shoulder up quite bad in his attempt at escape. He opened his mouth and his body involuntarily sucked in water. Derek's eyes widened as the water swept into his lungs. His body bucked once as he tried to breathe, then twice, then he became still, his eyes glassy.

* * *

 _08:10 GMT_

A crowd gathered at the sides of the road where the exit of the tunnel stood in Pwllhei, watching in aghast fascination as people popped up from the water and desperately swum to shore. Sirens could be heard in the distance though there were no ambulances yet. People were stripping off their jackets or shirts to give to the ones who had been tugged over the concrete barrier from the water.

Jamie, Tanzi, and Leslie all stood next to the tunnel, watching intently. Tanzi squeezed her gloved fists closed. "I didn't get the clue," she said slowly as she watched the flooded entrance to the tunnel.

"What?" Jamie had been looking past the tunnel to the waters but looked back at Tanzi. "What do you mean?"

"When I touched Rose I saw her vision. I wasn't sure if I would get the clues or not. I didn't." Tanzi shook her head. "I thought I would. I thought I would be able to help. But if I don't receive the clues…"

"There!" Leslie pointed as the drenched Patrick Sanders was pulled from the waters a few metres away from them. He coughed and shook violently but upon seeing the trio of Jamie, Leslie, and Tanzi, made to make a run for it. However Jamie was too quick and sped forwards, grabbing his collar and pulling him back.

"Where are they?!" Jamie demanded.

"I-I-I don't know!" Patrick sputtered, looking very much like a half-drowned cat.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Tanzi asked with narrowed eyes.

"I-I-I…"

"I think it is clear," Jamie said with disgust, holding the sodden father of the Sanders family. "He ran away from his family. He chose his own life against his children."

"N-No, no, I was just—"

"They're your family," Leslie said, aghast, staring at the sodden man. "You left them?!" Leslie felt unexpected anger rise in his chest. Leslie's own parents had died for him in the Eastbourne explosions, to save him, so to see this father abandon his children, his wife, was absolutely unforgivable.

"BASTARD!" The roar came from their left and a drenched blur ripped between Jamie and Tanzi as Alisha Sanders threw herself on her father. Patrick desperately covered his face as Alisha beat her fists against him. "You left us! You prick, you asshole, you _bastard_!" Alisha was infuriated as she beat down on her father, her nails ripping into his arms. Tanzi glanced at Jamie for a moment before they stepped forward and grabbed Alisha's arms, pulling her away. She kicked at her father for a moment before becoming limp in Tanzi and Jamie's arms. There were tears in her eyes, mixed in with the seawater. "You ran away…" Alisha breathed, her tone still lined with fury. "You left us to die."

Alisha turned away and walked to the edge of the collapsed entrance, hugging herself tightly. Tanzi walked over to her as Jamie grabbed hold of Patrick again who was whimpering like a scolded child. Leslie looked between them and felt a small amount of hope. If Alisha was here that meant they were able to get out. He searched the slow trickle of people popping out of the water desperately. Then… "Over there," once again, Leslie pointed.

Axel was walking out of the water, holding the limp figure of Marianne Sanders in his arms. He turned his head and immediately saw them before making his way toward them. As he got closer, Leslie felt that hope disappear. Marianne was deathly pale and her fingers hung loose as they swung from his arms.

"Axel?" Jamie asked as he got close. Axel didn't say a word as he laid Marianne gently on the road. He knelt down next to her and gently pushed her eyelids down with the tip of his finger. "Is she…"

"Dead," Axel said with a low voice.

Alisha looked down at her stepmother and felt like something had impaled her heart. She never loved Marianne but now she thought that had been a mistake. Didn't Marianne do all she could to raise Alisha as one of her own? Fed her, clothed her, gave her a roof to sleep under… and what had she done but protest and whine like a spoiled child who didn't get her way? Then Alisha snapped her neck towards Axel. "Derek, where's Derek?"

Axel turned his head towards her and his expression told the whole story. Even as his mouth moved to echo the word he had just spoken Alisha felt her stomach drop out from under her. She dropped to her knees, all her energy seeping out of her body, and Tanzi dropped down next to her, putting a comforting hand over her shoulder.

Axel stood up again and peeled off his sodden shirt, dropping it to the floor. "I will… recover your brother," Axel said and turned to Alisha. He lowered his head. "Es tut mir leid. I am sorry." With that he strode back into the water and disappeared under the surface.

Leslie watched Axel submerge and realised that this was why Ruby and Naomi had been so grim about the List. He looked at Alisha on her knees, mournful and being comforted by Tanzi. He looked to the motionless corpse of Marianne Sanders and then to the face of Patrick Sanders who refused to look at his wife and daughter. This was the reality of the List. It was real and it would tear everything apart. It seemed to Leslie, seeing what had just happened, that the end result would be inevitable.

* * *

 _09:16 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"Social media is abuzz," Siddharth muttered through his beard as his eyes skimmed across his laptop's screen. "The tunnel has collapsed."

"That quick?" Rose glanced at him in surprise as she drove through Berlin, heading for Johann Schneider's house. She shook her head. "I hope they're okay. I hope they managed to save Derek."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Siddharth said with a small smile.

"Yeah. Axel, Jamie, and Tanzi are there," Rose nodded to reassure herself. "We just need to concentrate on getting to the professor."

 _The roar of the engine, the gleam of the sun off a visor. Hammering, drilling, construction of a new home. Men wiping sweat off their brows, wearing orange jackets, before getting back to work under the gleaming sun. Then a shout, a warning, scaffolding crumbling towards the road…_

Rose took a sharp breath and had to focus back on the road to stop herself from losing control completely. Again? She had never known two clue visions to come in quick succession like this in all her research of the List. She had to warn Sam about… Rose's eyes widened. There, just down the road, was scaffolding set up by a new house. This couldn't be true, it couldn't happen so quickly after the previous vision, could it?

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Derek is the first casualty of the List but he'll be far from the last. I said it before but things are going to go full speed ahead until the end! I have also decided that even though I am not in the countdown anymore that I will keep the time stamps. This means that I will go back to the pre-countdown chapters and add in time stamps as well to keep it all thematically linked.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, and get ready for more bloodshed!**_


	36. Out of Character

**Chapter Thirty-One**

 **Out of Character**

 _09:18 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Werner Remmy wiped the sweat off his brow as he stretched his back, trying to ease his admittedly aging bones. Nevertheless he had to work to pay the bills and got back on his knees to lay the mortar on the bricks. It had been an early start for the construction crew and it would be a late end as their deadline was in a week and they had a _lot_ to get done. Concentrating on the menial but necessary task at hand, Werner was so focused that he didn't hear his name being called until the second time.

"Werner!" At the sound of one of his workers, Werner lifted his head with a mildly irritated expression.

"Was ist es?"

"Es geht direkt zu uns!" The panic was clear in the boy's words as he pointed down the road. Werner followed his gaze and found himself looking at a white van trundling towards them down the incline of the slight hill. The distant shouts of a man running behind the van were lost on Werner's eyes but it seemed clear what the situation was seeing as there was nobody in the driver's seat of the van.

"Gehen… Gehen, gehen!" Werner gestured to the unfinished roof the house just off the scaffolding. Werner and the boy both scrambled onto the roof and Werner watched the few other workers down a floor climb through the building to get into the house proper. From his position on the roof Werner heard the loud purring of an engine and looked the other direction to see a low motorcycle heading down the road. The figure had its head turned away and looking at another car. It seemed like the driver of this car was trying to shout something but the motorcyclist wasn't hearing it – and with her attention turned, she couldn't see the van about to crash through the scaffolding and into her. "Hör auf, du!" Warner called out in a roaring voice he reserved for telling off his workers. "Halt! Halt!"

But the motorcyclist didn't stop but she did finally get the message of the woman through the window of the car. She turned her helmeted head and caught sight of the van just as it crashed through the scaffolding as if it were a house of cards.

* * *

 _09:20 CET_

Sam watched the van crashed through the scaffolding, watched the wooden planks and the metal poles collapse and scatter as if in slow motion. She squeezed on the brakes but knew it was no use. She had allowed herself to get distracted by Rose and was far too close to the scaffolding – and the van pushing its way straight through. She realised at this pace that she would meet a very sticky end. She didn't like her chances taking the van head-on. So Sam allowed herself a small prayer of safety as she leapt off the side of the motorbike.

She hit the floor hard and rolled over a few times, the road scraping up the leathers of her jacket and her helmet bouncing so hard off the concrete that she felt her teeth rattle. Nevertheless she knew her gear had done the job of protecting her as she heard a massive crash and the tearing of metal. She watched as the van pulverized her bike, running over it but the Harley caught itself under the front of the van and with a harsh scraping sound the van came to a halt. Sam breathed in a sigh of relief that got caught in her throat as a scaffold pole that had been balancing atop the van's roof came shooting towards her as it scraped to a halt like an arrow fired out of a ballista.

Sam should have been able to move but she froze as an image of her mother flashed through her head, bleeding out on the road by such an unfair set of circumstances. Was that to be her fate, pierced by this piece of metal and struck down?

"SAM!" The shout came from her left and Sam felt something tackle into her shoulders like a rugby player. Sam was thrown to the side and heard the thud of metal on concrete followed very shortly by a shriek of pain. She got her bearings, turned her head, and saw Rose bundled on the road, clutching her knee in absolute agony. Sam's eyes widened as she followed the knee down to a mess of sinew and muscle where the scaffold pole had torn through Rose's leg as if it were paper. There was bone sticking out through the skin, a sharp fragment that welled up with blood.

Rose grit her teeth in pain as she rocked back and forth, letting out sharp and short breaths.

"Hey," Sam threw off her helmet and moved in close to Rose. "Hey, don't move, don't…" Sam watched with wide eyes as blood pumped out from the mangled mess of Rose's leg. "Je ne sais pas quoi faire," Sam muttered. "Je-je ne…"

"Rose," Siddharth had climbed out of the tepee and was looking down at Rose with wide eyes. "…Oh my…"

"We-We need to call an ambulance," Sam said as she tried to keep her eyes away from the mess of Rose's leg.

"No!" Rose said through the pain and reached to clutch Sam's arm. "Hospital… Evrard will find us!"

"Rose… if we don't get that treated…" Siddharth said hesitantly.

"He… wants to kill us anyway… fuck if I'm going to… hole myself up in a room… in a ribbon for him…" Rose breathed, her head pounding. She couldn't even look down at the state her leg was in and looked at Siddharth firmly. "The doctor… Johann… get to him…"

"He's not that kind of doctor," Siddharth said.

"Siddharth!" Rose growled.

Siddharth shook his head, conflicted. He understood that calling an ambulance and going to a hospital would set Evrard directly on their trail and what would they be able to do then? Just get caught and executed, Siddharth suspected. But if they tried to get to Johann Schneider it wasn't likely that Rose would survive the trip. It was a lose-lose situation no matter how he looked at it.

"…Johann…" Rose repeated, feeling woozy.

"I can't drive, Rose…" Siddharth muttered.

Rose closed her eyes for a moment before turning back to Sam. "…You drive other than… the bike?"

Sam shook her head. "Non. I am sorry."

Rose tried to respond but she felt something that felt like electricity jolting through her head.

 _Three strange, unfamiliar faces that oozed evil. Boxes upon boxes lined up on shelves, as tall as the ceiling itself. Robert, beaten and in blood-stained clothes, sat unmoving in the corner. A flash of a pair of eyes, different colours, intense and angry. A machete gleamed in the darkness, calm and collected. Then a loud noise, a flash of light._

The intensity of the different images seemed only to induce the pain in Rose's body and she let out another strangled cry.

"Rose?!" Siddharth leaned down towards his friend.

"I don't… I don't understand…" Rose breathed harsh breaths as she spoke. "Another-Another vision… Robert… But… others…" Why was it one after the other? William's had been expected, then Derek's had happened, Sam followed now it was Robert… all the space of just over an hour. Rose looked up at Siddharth, feverish and on the brink. "Take me… take me to… to… Johann… please…"

Rose closed her eyes and Siddharth looked at Sam desperately. "You definitely don't know how to drive?"

Sam shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Hallo! Bist du in Ordnung? Kann ich helfen?" A male voice called out and Siddharth looked to see a burly man coming from the direction of the scaffolding. Siddharth glanced down to the weak Rose, now breathing shallowly, and back to the man. He knew he couldn't do anything for Robert but quite frankly Robert wasn't on his mind. He didn't want to but he knew he had to make a vital decision to save Rose's life.

* * *

 _09:28 CET_

Holly walked down the lines of shelves that lined the abandoned warehouse, gently massaging the sides of her nose from where Marshall Mathers had hit it. Luckily for her it hadn't broken but it was certainly an absolute nuisance. At least it was a lot better than what Alpha got. He didn't deserve his death and that death solely rested on the misinformation given to them by their contractor.

They were told that Robert Winters had been kidnapped but they had not been told that Marshall Mathers was some kind of agent with an affinity for combat, survival techniques, and learning on the fly. The man had barely been fazed by Holly's abilities and had fought against her with intelligence that Holly had never seen before. In a way, she had to respect Marshall Mathers and his efforts. It was almost a shame that he was now rotting at the bottom of a river.

But that didn't bring Alpha back. He was dead and it seemed like Riddle and Rivera just didn't care about it and Holly couldn't fathom why that was. It didn't seem all that long ago when they were working for the Department of Supernatural Investigation as a member of their combat squad, joking and laughing and fighting together. Back then Riddle knew when to take a joke. Back then Rivera would crack a smile. Back then… Back before they had defected and become mercenaries for hire.

It had been Riddle's idea and Alpha had persuaded Holly that it had been the right thing to do. The DSI simply didn't offer the opportunities that mercenary work could give, the money it could provide, the future that could happen because of it. That future was what Holly had joined for. A future with Alpha, a future where they could sit on a beach under the hot sun and enjoy their lives away from the shackles of the life they led…

But that was gone and Holly felt like she had no reason to stay anymore, to work with Riddle and Rivera, to continue to get corrupted by their presence.

Holly suddenly stopped as she spotted the boy crouched in a shadowy corner, huddled, pathetic. Holly looked at him and couldn't help but wonder whether Rivera cutting out his tongue was necessary. She understood Riddle wanted to send the boy a message but even so…

It seemed like the boy was sleeping though definitely having fitful nightmares of some kind. He was twitching and moving his head back and forth as if fighting something. Holly wondered whether she was in his dreams – a monster among three. Was that her destiny? To be feared?

"It is unusual for you to be so deep in thought," Rivera said from out of nowhere. Holly turned to Rivera with a grimace.

"Did Riddle ask you to use your ability to watch me or did you just want to find some amusement?"

"Just because you didn't notice me doesn't mean I was invisible," Rivera said calmly, as always. Rivera had almost gotten to the point where she simply didn't have any emotions left. She used to be like a sister for Holly but now she was nothing more than a stranger.

"What do you want?"

"To see what you're thinking," Rivera said, as sharp as ever. Rivera was always good at reading people's emotions.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I ain't telling you shit."

"Is it Alpha?"

"Are you deaf?"

"You can talk to me."

"Can I?" Holly challenged, turning to face Rivera properly. "I'd have better luck talking to the kid."

Rivera at least had the grace to look insulted. Then she placed her hand on the leather grip on her machete, leaning on it. "You disapprove of what I did to the boy?" Right on point, as usual. Rivera shook her head slowly. "It was a command from Riddle. He wanted the boy's tongue to be cut off so I cut it off."

"So we're just his underlings now? When did that change?"

"I suspect when we left," Rivera responded. "Riddle leads us because he is a leader." Rivera peered at Holly with those analytical eyes of hers. "Alpha's death has affected you more than I suspected."

"And how did you expect me to take it?!" Holly demanded, her anger taking hold again. "Did you want me to have a brief cry and then just forget about him? Fuck that! He got shot in the fucking head by a man we weren't giving any information about! He could have killed me! But what the fuck do you care, Rivera, huh? You didn't shed a tear for Alpha, you didn't ask if I was okay!"

"I am aware that you can handle yourself."

"Fuck that!" Holly's voice was rising but she didn't care anymore. She hadn't been able to vent since the battle at the bridge. "I _can't_ handle it myself, that's the whole damn point of why we were a team. Me, Alpha, you, Riddle, none of us can handle it alone. We were a team and we worked as a team. Riddle made the wrong call in just making Alpha and I take on Marshall. It should have been all of us, like it always was!" Holly shook her head and thrust her finger against Rivera's shoulder. "Riddle's lost his touch, Sarah!"

In that instant Rivera reached up and slapped away Holly's hand. "We abandoned our names, Holly! Remember your place!"

"My place?" Holly took a step backwards, feeling the anger shake up her body. "So that's how it is? Am I under you as well now?" Holly clenched her fists. "I see how it is. It was always like this. I was always the weak link. I always let the team down. You were simply picking up my slack. I failed in Las Vegas, I failed at the bridge, so you and Riddle have finally decided to cut me loose now Alpha is gone!" Holly suddenly stopped her pacing and took a long, deep breath.

Then she struck out at Rivera with a fist.

Rivera acted instantly, stepping to the side of Holly's punch and drawing her machete in one smooth, clean motion, swiping it at Holly's neck. The blade went straight through the skin and Rivera's eyes widened. She looked to Holly in surprise. "I didn't…"

"Hah… Haha…" Holly ran a finger across her neck. "You've lost your humanity, Rivera. Your instinct was to kill me… kill me! Your friend!" And then Holly charged forward, tackling into Rivera. The two teammates tumbled to the floor and started grappling with each-other. Holly wormed her arm between Rivera's and grabbed the shotgun. She swung up the surprisingly heavy weapon and pointed it at Rivera's chest.

"…You need to calm down," Rivera said as she eyed the barrel of her own weapon.

"You need to shut up!" Holly retorted.

"You are crying," Rivera noted and Holly realised she was right. She could feel the wet on her cheeks and raised a finger to touch the wetness. At that point Rivera suddenly disappeared out of her vision. Something hit into Holly's arm and the shotgun was kicked from her grasp. It hit the floor and with a loud BANG fired pellets that shattered one of the legs of the huge shelves. Almost instantly the loud shelf gave a huge groan and started tilting – right towards the now very much awake Rob Winters.

As if possessed, Holly turned towards him and started to run but Rivera appeared from out of nowhere and reached forward, grabbing her arm. "Holly, don't!" But Holly activated her ability and melded her hand through Rivera's. She rushed forward and grabbed Rob by the arm. The massive and heavy shelving unit crashed down upon them in a cacophony of sound and dust. Crates split open and boxes were thrown everywhere. The collapse finally settled and Rivera could only look on in shock.

After a long moment Holly stood up – directly out of a long flat piece of wood – and walked towards Rivera, clutching a very scared and confused Rob in her arms. There was sweat on Holly's brow and it dripped down onto her shirt. She gave Rivera a firm, almost rebellious, glare.

"What have you done?" Rivera asked, aghast.

* * *

 _09:40 CET_

Siddharth sat in the passenger seat on the tepee, not believing what he was doing. In his hand he held a pistol that Axel had smuggled onto the Tepee back when they had started the journey in France and in Siddharth's hand it felt absolutely foreign. He had never held a firearm before – he had no reason to as a tech guy. Nevertheless here he was, pointing his pistol at the innocent man driving the car. The man was clearly scared but he drove as Siddharth had asked him to, towards the address of Professor Johann Schneider.

Rose was in the passenger seat after having been awkwardly and painfully dragged in by Sam. The blood was getting everywhere and Sam was doing her best to staunch it, holding her own torn shirt over the gaping wound. She feared that the wrong movement would simply tear the last ligaments and Rose's leg would be impossible to save. Rose, to her credit, had actually managed to stay conscious if not in immense pain.

"Du-Du musst das nicht tun," the man from the worksite muttered with a sideways glance to Siddharth.

"Just drive!" Siddharth demanded, though the man didn't understand a word of it. He could recognise the tone though and kept his gaze to the road.

Rose felt sorry for Siddharth – he shouldn't have had to be in this position, of pointing a pistol at an innocent man. But she also appreciated the effort he was going to save her life. Rose needed to get to Johann's house, she knew that much, and she also knew that she should, in theory, be safe until her turn on the list came up.

 _The early morning bird calls filled the air. Trainers pushed through the grass, passing trees and bushes. A dog's tongue hung out, swinging back and forth happily. Something spinning, a blade, contained in a plastic prison. A flash, the blade soaring, spinning with deadly accuracy…_

Rose let out another fresh scream as the vision prompted pain to run through her. She bit her lip with so much force that blood blossomed and soaked her chin but she didn't care. "Q-Quick… J-Johann…" Rose breathed as Siddharth looked back at her from the passenger seat. "…Please… we have to get… get to his house… as soon as we can…"


	37. Flight 56

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

 **Flight 56**

 _09:46 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Johann finally closed 'The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt' with a sigh and leaned back in his chair, linking his long fingers behind his head. The notebook he had been using to write down any information that pertained to the subject at hand balanced on his knees and Johann peered down at his cursive with a wholly satisfied expression. His research throughout the night had taken him through a number of novels, online data, research papers, and reference books and while mentions of the list or a single entity known as death weren't prevalent he had discovered a number of off-hand mentions of something that seemed to match what Jade Skysong had told him of the list and among it all one named seemed to crop up.

 _Shishak Kaka._

Johann had never heard the name before but as he started researching it he found that a number of recovered documents translated from hieroglyph's detailed that the boy was a slave of no particular import. One transcript in the collection of old documents posted on the research websites detailed that Shishak Kaka was to participate in a chariot race to ensure that a well-known warrior would win the race. It wasn't unusual for the Egyptians to 'fix' races and fights to put on the best show possible. This particular chariot race was to be performed in front of the Pharaoh himself, King Merenptah.

But something had gone wrong. Many people died though the actions of Shishak Kaka that saved not only the famed warrior who was to win the race but other nobles of import. This had impressed the Pharaoh and Shishak Kaka was reported to have been invited to the Pharaoh's palace in Memphis.

Then all reference of Shishak Kaka seemed to disappear. Johann had found that the famed warrior, a few nobles known to have survived whatever incident had taken place, and the Pharaoh himself had all passed away within a week. The slave, Shishak Kaka, was never mentioned again in any of the documents Johann looked over.

With this information, and much more, swirling around his head, Johann decided it was time for some fresh air. The room had gotten stifling and he wanted time to be able to sift through the necessary information in his head. He stood up and exited his office to enter the living room.

The Miracle Skyhawks seemed to have made themselves at home quite quickly. Bethany was speaking to Jade in low tones, Murphy was flicking through a book he had found on one of the many piles, and Sticks was still sleeping spread-eagled on the sofa with Jäger at his feet, lying on top of Sticks like a very hairy quilt. The three band members that were awake looked to Johann as he entered the room.

"Good morning," Johann greeted as he walked to a low cupboard to pull out a pair of trainers.

"What are you doing?" Bethany asked as Johann pulled off the shoes he had been wearing to switch them with the trainers.

"I am merely heading out for a morning jog," Johann said as he tied the laces. "I need to formulate the information I have gathered and I rather like going for a nice run."

Bethany glanced to Jade for a moment before turning back to Johann. "Is that such a good idea?

"I do not see why not," Johann said with a smile. "You told me that this Siddharth would get in contact if you or I were in danger. We have not received such contact so I should be free to head out. I shan't be long."

"Hmm…" Bethany didn't look entirely convinced. "I don't think you should go alone, though."

"I shan't be alone. Jäger will be with me, of course," Johann said as he stood up and placed a hand on the deerhound's head. Jäger slowly opened his eyes and let out a huge yawn before sliding off of Sticks' chest and padding over to the door, sitting down patiently. "You may join me if you wish."

"I don't think jogging is Bethany's scene," Jade said with a chuckle as Bethany looked hesitant. "But we should have someone other than a dog-" at this, Jäger let out a small, irritated growl, "to watch over you, just in case. I'll go with you. I'm getting fed up of Sticks' snoring anyway."

"Then please make yourself at home," Johann said to Bethany. "Feel free to eat anything you find in the cupboards though there are only long-life products in there. If you wanted something a little fresher then there is a lovely little corner shop just down the road."

"Thank you," Bethany nodded her head. "Thank you, professor, for treating us strangers so kindly."

"Please, call me Johann. And for strangers such as yourselves it is no trouble. You have brought your list and Miss Skysong's ability with you; I am glad to have such things to research and witness." Johann looked to Jade. "I shall be keeping quite the pace, so I hope you can keep up."

"No disrespect… but I suspect I can probably keep up with you," Jade said with a grin, tightening the laces on her boots.

"Indeed," Johann let off a sly smirk and ran a finger down Jäger's forehead. "Then let us head out."

* * *

 _09:50 CET_

 _Santander, Spain_

The inspectors were taking two-to-three minutes on each of the bags as the line filtered through to the plane. Whatever the apparent threat was must have been extremely serious as Adrian and Seth had been waiting in the line for just over an hour. However they were near the back of the line and once they got through they knew it wouldn't be long until the plane got moving and they'd finally be on their way back home.

However, Seth had a problem and had been fidgeting for the better part of fifteen minutes.

"I don't think I can hold it in," Seth muttered in Adrian's ear as they watched the passenger in front of Adrian get inspected.

"Come on, just a little longer and you'll be on the plane."

"But I'd have to wait until we're in the air 'till I can go."

"We're right there, Seth."

Seth glanced behind him and saw that there were only five people left in the line, all looking irritated at having to wait so long. Seth looked back at Adrian and nodded to himself. "Look, I'm gonna dart out and then I'll be right back. I really don't fancy wetting myself on a plane."

"Be quick then!" Adrian said as the inspector started repacking the passenger's bag. "And I swear to God, if you miss this flight, I will _not_ be happy with you!"

"Got it. I'll be right back," Seth said with an apologetic smile and quickly darted out of the line, making a beeline for the lavatories.

* * *

 _09:52 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"I have to admit… I'm impressed," Jade said as she jogged side by side with Johann. Despite his age, Johann kept a healthy pace while Jäger loped at their sides. The early sun was hotter than she had expected and she could feel sweat forming on her forehead.

"It is always good to keep one's body in shape as well as their mind," Johann replied as he curved around the path with Jade matching him pace for pace.

"You don't seem like the kind of person who tries to keep particularly in shape."

"Do I give off that impression?" Johann asked. "I have run many marathons in my time, my dear. I have run all over the world, in Africa, in the USA, in China. I once had to run four miles in the Himalayas every morning for a year. I may be a man of the mind but I enjoy this side of my life nearly as much."

"I suppose they say don't judge a book by its cover," Jade shrugged.

"Come, Miss Skysong, let us take this off the beaten path," Johann suggested and turned off the gravel path to pass into the ankle-length grass. "I have run in this park for many a year yet I always discover something new when I head into the wilds. Discovering new things is what people like me live for, after all."

Jade and Jäger followed Johann as he led them between the thick trunks of trees and past bushes that were bright with berries and the early morning sun. Jade had to admit that the Tiergarten park was a very beautiful place in a homely kind of way. It reminded her of her hill in Eastbourne where she used to sing for herself and for nobody else. Perhaps if she had time in the evening she would take up on her old habits.

Johann led them through winding paths that only he could see until they came out on a clearing of long grass. A gardener was rolling around on his mower and upon seeing Johann gave a small wave. Johann waved back with a smile.

"Erik. Nice man. He always battles the wilds of this park." Johann looked to Jade. "I'm not sure he ever wins, though. Come, let us loop this field and then we'll make our way back. I don't want to leave your friends for very long. Miss Cross did seem worried and I don't want to exacerbate that feeling."

"You were right though," Jade said thoughtfully as they skimmed the trees to loop around the field. "I doubt you or Bethany are going to be in danger anytime soon. When I was in Eastbourne, there were sometimes days before the next person on the List. It's been a little over an hour since Siddharth told me the list would start properly. So I don't think there is anything to worry about—"

As if just to spite Jade's words, a sudden THUNK drew the attention of both Johann and Jade. They looked towards the middle of the field where the gardener, Erik, was thumping his mower that was vibrating to the point that the plastic chassis was shaking and wobbling. Black smoke started to curl up out of the engine and into the clear sky. Then—

BANG!

With a sound like a gunshot, there was a burst of smoke and orange flame and Jade saw the glint of something silver shining in the sunlight. Instinct seemed to take over and she shoved Johann with the palms of her hand, knocking the elderly man to the floor. Then it felt like she was punched in the chest and found herself sprawled on the grass, staring up at the mower blade sticking up out of her chest, snapped off from its origin of the mower in the middle of the plain.

"…Ow…" Jade muttered as she felt the copper taste of blood in her mouth.

"Miss Skysong!" Johann's voice was alarmed as he knelt over her, looking down at the long silver blade lodged in the top of her ribcage.

"It's fine," Jade grinned a bloody grin. "Just pull it out, will ya? I don't know what happens if I heal when something is in me and I really don't want to find out."

For a moment Johann hesitated. Pulling something like this out would break all the rules of first aid. It would be like pulling a knife out without knowing what the damage was but… he had seen her arm heal after Jäger's attack. He had seen that impossibility with his own two eyes. He grasped the edges of the long mower blade tentatively and wrenched it with a _crack_ out of Jade's ribcage. Jade cursed but almost instantly the skin started to knit itself back together. Johann watched, as amazed as the first time, seeing flesh and muscle stitch itself together. By all means such a thing should not happen yet here it was… a body healing, re-stitching itself, forming without nary a scar.

Almost without thought, Johann placed a finger on Jade's bare skin where the blade had sliced her shirt at the centre of her chest. "I would love to research this further, Miss Skysong, when we have the time."

Jade chuckled and gently pushed Johann's hand away as she sat up. "Perhaps take me out for dinner first, Prof," then she frowned. "We need to get back as quick as we can. Siddharth said you were sixth on the list and that happened way too fast. We need to get to Bethany to make sure she's safe."

* * *

 _09:57 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"Do you think we should have let them go?" Bethany mused, staring at the door with a concerned expression. "Maybe separating isn't the best idea."

"Well, I don't know about you, Bethany, but I don't do jogging," Sticks said from the sofa, munching on a protein bar that he had found at the back of one of the kitchen cupboards. He raised his arms. "It's these puppies that I keep healthy. My legs are like twigs." He motioned to Murphy who was still nose first in that book he had found. "And can you see Murphy going any speed other than a cool walk?"

"There is no such thing as cool jogging," Murphy confirmed.

"See?" Sticks quickly stood up and patted Bethany on the shoulder. "Don't worry. They'll be fine. I mean, he's got Jade by his side who is apparently some kind of super mutant, which, you know, is cool."

Then a sudden thought came to Bethany that she spoke without first realising how stupid it was. "D'you think she's not human?"

"Ha!" Sticks guffawed as Murphy lowered the book in surprise. "Bethany! You think there's some kind of little green man inside of Jade, controlling her like a robot? I don't know how the heck she can heal like she can but she's still human."

"But…" Bethany continued in an effort to get rid of the stupidity. "I mean… I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing but what human can do something like that? You saw her arm heal, the wounds stitch themselves back together… She never told us about it, either…"

"Bethany…" Sticks shook his head slowly. "I love ya, but don't be stupid."

"…Yeah…" Bethany nodded but her worry didn't go away. The fact of the matter was that what Jade could do was absoluty impossible. This list was impossible. A physical presence of death was impossible. Yet here it all was, facing her like a predator with a lock on her flesh. The world she thought she knew had been shattered and now it was like every step she took sent reverberations through the very foundations of her logic.

A harsh knocking brought Bethany out of her reverie coming directly from the front door. The knocking continued rapidly, beating through the room. Bethany glanced to Sticks and Murphy and they both looked bemused. Bethany motioned to the door and made for it while Sticks grabbed an umbrella from the corner, hoisting it over his shoulder as if it were a baseball bat.

She grabbed the front door handle, took a deep breath, and opened it wide.

Almost instantly a heavy-set figure pushed past her, dragging another figure. Bethany followed the trail of bright blood to the mangled leg of the figure being dragged.

"Johann?!" The big man bellowed, looking around the room. "Johann Schneider?!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Bethany demanded.

"Johann Schneider should be…" The man looked at Bethany. "You… You're the singer from the Skyhawks, Bethany Cross…" He looked from Murphy to Sticks. "Where's Jade Skysong? Where's Johann?"

"They're out for a moment, who are you?"

The man frowned and placed the pale and sickly woman down on the sofa. A shirt had been wrapped tight around the mangled mess of her leg, sodden with blood. But the woman was at least conscious and she gently grabbed the man's hand. "Siddharth…" She breathed in a weak voice. "This is… Siddharth… I'm Rose… Johann… is next… Is he safe?"

"He wanted to go jogging, Jade is with him, I don't understand… As in Siddharth who contacted Jade?"

"Yes…" Siddharth said, his tone still panicked. "Rose is hurt. We need him to take a look at her."

"You know he's not that kind of doctor, right?" Sticks said, still handling the umbrella as if unsure whether to thwack Siddharth around the head with it.

"I know," Siddharth sighed. "Rose insisted. How long will he be?"

"I doubt very long," Murphy said as he knelt in front of Rose. He gently put a hand on her leg and peered at the shirt. "I may be able to help, at least a little bit. I know enough that we need to keep this clean. That shirt is just going to help get it infected…" Murphy peered up through his sunglasses at Rose. "I'm gonna have to take this off… chances are it's going to stick and that means it's going to hurt…"

"…Whatever…" Rose breathed, feeling a strange sense of happiness among her agony. Sam was in the car watching over the man Siddharth had held at gunpoint. Three of the Skyhawks were here. Johann and Jade couldn't be far away, the same for Marshall and Robert… they were nearly all together… but… it was bittersweet… Rose concentrated on keeping her consciousness, knowing more than anything that she needed to stay awake, stay alert, to help her allies, to ensure their survival.

 _56\. The number flashed in red on a large billboard of a screen. Above, the words SANTANDER stood out brightly. A plane stood solid amidst the rumble of engines. But something was wrong, the engines were shaking… too much… a flash of orange, a flash of black, the shattering of glass… darkness, and a scream that seemed to echo…_

Rose had received so many of them in such a short time that she managed to retain the information of the visions; the details still bright in her mind. As usual, a flare of pain accompanied the vision but she ignored it and looked to Siddharth. "Santander! The seventh is in Santandar… Flight… 56… Find him, Siddharth…"

Understanding the urgency, Siddharth immediately drew back to open his laptop, allowing Murphy to slowly unwrap the sodden shirt. "Santander Airport, okay… Flight 56. That was due to depart an hour ago…" His fingers were a blur as his eyes scanned the screen. "Apparently there were checks and it hasn't taken off yet. We might still have time." His fingers were almost hypnotizing as they moved through data. "I got the passenger manifest but… without a name, Rose…"

"Pink… pink hair…" Rose said through gritted teeth as Murphy finally pulled the shirt away.

"I need water, Sticks, get me a bowl," Murphy said as Rose continued.

"…Earring… a goatee… blue eyes… agh!" She squeezed her fists shut.

"I'm going to have to search the names manually… match them with the online profiles…" Siddharth's eyes skimmed as pages opened and were shut before his eyes. With the rate the list had been going there was an unfortunately good chance that whatever was going to happen had already happened but he couldn't stop. The seventh man on the list was one of the ones that were unable to get to Berlin in the first place so this was Siddharth's only chance to get to him. "Here! The picture matches the profile of one Adrian Jacobs… he's on the manifest… I got his number…" Siddharth took out his phone and grit his teeth. "As long as Evrard isn't tracking… Damn! Of course, he's on a plane, the phone would be turned off…"

"Here," Sticks was back with a bowl of water to hand to Murphy.

"Hold her leg straight for me," Murphy murmured.

Siddharth looked at the manifest again. "He's sitting next to a Seth Daniels, maybe I can… worth a try, at least." Siddharth got another number and typed it into his mobile, hoping against hope… "It's ringing!" Siddharth finally exclaimed with a triumphant smile.

* * *

 _10:00 CET_

 _Santander, Spain_

Quickly drying off his hands and feeling very relieved, Seth pushed open the door of the toilets just as he heard the familiar ringtone of his phone. He pulled the phone out and quickly hung up. He had to get back to the plane and Adrian as soon as he could. Hopefully he hadn't wasted too much time. It would have been an absolutely stupid reason to miss a flight, having to relieve himself. Adrian would rib him relentlessly for it, Seth knew.

The ringtone sounded again and Seth quickly deactivated it once more. _Get the message ,_ Seth shook his head has he made his way for the entry point. He approached the doorway where the last passenger was just disappearing through the checks when the phone rung again. Annoyed, Seth quickly answered the phone, "Call me later, I'm about to get on—"

"Don't let Adrian on the plane!" A voice rung out in Seth's ear, far too loud. _Don't let Adrian on the plane…_ Seth stopped , confused. "His life is in danger! Do not let him on that plane."

"Who are you? What are you talking about?" Seth's curiosity got the better of him as he walked through the doorway. The inspector gave him a dirty look but Seth put a finger up for just a little time.

He heard the voice on the other end mutter a light curse then, "There's a… a bomb on that plane, okay? You need-"

"A bomb?!" Seth didn't mean to echo the word so loudly but the inspector immediately looked at Seth.

"Sir?"

"Hang on," Seth said but the inspector was in front of him now.

"Hang up the phone, sir. I need you to come with me."

Seth reluctantly hung up the phone and watched the walkway descend away from the plane. He closed his eyes and looked to the inspector. "I just got a phone call, I was just told there's a-a bomb on that plane…"

"We take threats like this very seriously," the inspector said and turned to his radio. "We've got a B140, I repeat, a B140 on Flight 56." After this, the inspector turned back to Seth. "Come on, you need to come with me. We'll have some questions for you."

Seth knew that nothing he could say would stop the inspector – if push came to shove, he would call security – so deigned to follow the man. As he walked, he turned back to see the plane had activated its engines. No doubt the pilot would get a message soon to turn off the engines and everyone would be filtered out again to check for a potential bomb. But the engines weren't stopping…

Seth himself stopped and stared as the turbines of the engine turned and turned. Too fast. He had seen planes take off before and had never seen anything like that.

"Sir, if you resist—" The inspector started but stopped upon seeing what Seth was seeing. The inspector turned back into his radio. "Control, what is going on with Flight 56?"

Whatever answer came back to him was interrupted by a massive flash and a booming sound that both blinded and deafened Seth. He fell backwards by some unseen force and felt his head crack on the floor. He rolled onto his stomach and felt his eyes burning and his ears ringing. It took a long couple of seconds but finally Seth was able to start hearing something… screams? Shouts? He slowly turned and his mouth fell open at the sight before him.

Flight 56 was nothing but a flaming wreckage, the explosion of the engines having ripped through it as if it were paper. The great glass windows had shattered and had sent glass absolutely everywhere. There were a few civilians on the floor, caught in the blast. But Seth had no eyes for them. He stared at the flaming wreckage, watched a blackened wing collapse down to the ground, realising that Adrian was in that plane. "Adrian…" Seth muttered just as something crashed into him. He felt his arms wrenched behind his back but he continued to stare at the ruins of the plane. "Adrian!" He screamed, tears running loose down his cheeks. "ADRIAN!"


	38. The Power of Nectar

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

 **The Power of Nectar**

 _10:05 CET_

 _Cologne, Germany_

"Guten Morgen," the squat man in the bright yellow jacket gave a small salute of greeting to the Weissler sisters as he climbed out of the equally as bright yellow truck and dropped to the driveway. Jenna narrowed her eyes slightly at the man as he approached. He was here to take away the car that had belonged to the three drunken men but should have been here more than an hour ago. Nevertheless she returned a nod in greeting.

"Hallo," she said as Wanda nervously tugged on her arm. Wanda hadn't left Jenna's side ever since the men had broken into their house and had even refused to take a shower alone. The shock of the break-in had allowed Wanda to descend into a more childlike demeanour to the point that Jenna knew it was going to take a lot of work just to get her back to the way she was before.

"Entschuldigung, ich bin zu spät. Verkehr, weißt du?" The man apologised and motioned to the car that was still in the spot that it had been abandoned in. "Das sollte nicht lange dauern."

"Ich will das nur vorbei," Jenna said, looking at the red crane attached to the back of the flat-bed truck, looking like an oversized claw. "Wir bleiben hier draußen und sehen zu."

"Sicher," the man shrugged and walked over to the side of the truck at the base of the crane where a control panel waited. "Ich werde dann einfach zur Arbeit kommen?"

* * *

 _10:08 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"I don't know if we got to him in time," Siddharth said as he peered at his laptop screen, tracking social media on the explosion of Flight 56 at the Santander Airport. He looked to Rose who was looking maybe a little bit pinker in the cheeks. Murphy was kneeling at her leg and had cleaned the wound as best as he could, tying a make-shift tourniquet which would work temporarily. But the sheet they had taken from an airing cupboard was slowly turning red as blood seeped into the material. Nevertheless Murphy was keeping a watch on it through those sunglasses of his while Bethany and Sticks watched him, impressed.

"I… hope so…" Rose said, running a hand across her forehead to wipe the sweat away. She looked back down to Murphy and managed a pained smile. "Thank you… Murphy, was it?"

"Seamus if you like," Murphy said without looking up at her… or _was_ he looking up at her? It was hard to tell with the shades on his face.

"Whoa, whoa, rock star code, man!" Sticks exclaimed.

"What… is the rock star… code?" Rose asked, bemused.

"It's like the superhero code," Sticks said, affronted. "We don't tell people our real names for fear of crazy fans and such!"

Bethany chuckled. "Pretty sure my name _is_ Bethany Cross there, Sticks."

"Yeah, well, you just don't appreciate the code!"

"I think you're just embarrassed by your own name."

"Don't you dare!"

"What's so wrong with—"

"Shush!"

"Just a little-"

"Nope!"

"Come on—"

"Not happening!"

Rose watched the back-and-forth between Bethany and Sticks and found herself suddenly smiling – for the first time since William passed away. Then that smile blossomed into a laugh and before she could stop herself Rose suddenly erupted into unstoppable laughter, clutching her stomach and just letting the laughter roll out of her. It was such a refreshing feeling that tears slipped out of the corners of her eyes and she felt that if she could laugh like this then all hope wouldn't be lost no matter what happened.

 _A familiar house struck up in front of her, the window still shattered. A bright yellow vehicle stood prominent and proud. Then the snapping of straps, the clunking of metal… a woman's scream, a man's yell of warning, then the flash of a license plate getting closer and closer…_

Rose's laughter turned into a cry of pain and she slammed her jaw shut with teeth-shuddering force. She looked down to Murphy who was peering up at her before she found a sudden dizziness take over her and she dropped sideways on the sofa, her face pale again.

"Rose?" Murphy quickly bent over Rose's face. "Rose? Can you hear me?" Murphy shook his head and leaned back. "She's just lost consciousness… this wound, it's too much." He looked to the door. "Where is the professor and Jade?"

"You don't think—" Bethany asked, worried.

"Nah, Jade's with him," Sticks said confidently.

Murphy turned to Siddharth. "Are you _sure_ we can't call an ambulance? She's just going to get worse if it is kept untreated like this." But Siddharth wasn't listening to Murphy. He was on the phone but he was trying to call Jenna Weissler. Seeing it happen so often in such quick succession, Siddharth understood when Rose had one of her clues. He still had the order of the List on his laptop from their meeting that felt so long ago now and knew that Rose wouldn't forgive him if he didn't put in his full effort in trying to save the lives of the members of the List.

* * *

 _10:15 CET_

 _Cologne, Germany_

Jenna and Wanda watched the worker – Wanda peering out from behind Jenna's back – attach the long black straps hanging from the claw-ends of the crane around the wheels of the car and pull them tightly. He walked back over to the controls of the crane and slowly started pulling the crane up. The sound of unoiled machinery echoed around the neighbourhood as the car was hoisted up into the air.

"Jenna…" Wanda muttered, pulling at Jenna's hand. "Lass uns rein gehen..."

Jenna looked at Wanda and smiled. "Also geh. Dort ist es sicher." She crouched down slightly so she could look Wanda in the eyes. "Mach weiter." While Jenna could understand why Wanda wanted to go back inside, she couldn't explain to her sister why she didn't. With the men who had broken in, with the mysterious Rose, with the police, suddenly her privacy had been shattered and being in the house made her think just how close it could have been.

"Bitte, Jenna," Wanda tugged hard but Jenna still refused. She didn't want to face being back in the house. At least the last couple of hours had policemen to keep her distracted but once the car had been carried away then it was back alone, back with Wanda and her own worries which were unfortunately not a good combination. Jenna loved Wanda with all her heart but the truth of the matter was that Wanda was hard work at the best of times. She would go to the ends of the world for Wanda but sometimes, a very small part of her, a part she kept hidden, wished for a sister that was a little bit more… normal.

"Jenna!" Wanda tugged again, this time knocking Jenna off balance.

"Wanda, Hör auf," Jenna snapped, pulling away from her sister. "Was stimmt nicht mit dir?"

"Achtung!" The worker called out in warning but it was too late.

As Jenna stood back she stepped under the shadow of the slowly swivelling car. It was at that moment that the frayed black straps – worn from years of use – chose that moment to snap. First it was just one strap, putting the car at a slight tilt. Then the second strap snapped and the front of the car swung forward like a steel pendulum, the bonnet of car cracking Jenna on the forehead with a bright splash of red. Jenna dropped to the floor in an instant and then the final two straps broke, dropping the upturned car to the ground – and crushing Jenna under the roof of the silver car. One pale hand stuck out from the bent metal, twitching as blood pooled between the cracks of the bricks in the driveway.

"Ah…" Wanda took a step forward to the pool of blood, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "Ah, ah, ah…" Wanda dropped to her knees amongst the blood and grabbed the protruding pale hand of her sister. "Das passiert nicht… Ah… Ah…" Wanda squeezed the motionless hand tight and fell to her side with no regards to the blood. Shaking, rocking, Wanda Weissler curled herself around the hand like a child, letting off that same, toneless, disturbed sound.

* * *

 _10:18 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"She didn't answer her phone," Siddharth shook his head in defeat and leaned back in the chair. "No response at all." He looked to Murphy who was still trying to rouse Rose. "How is she?"

"Not good, I know that much," Murphy said with a shake of his head. "With an injury like this… I… without an ambulance…" Murphy looked to Siddharth. " _Why_ can't we take her to a hospital?"

Before Siddharth could answer the question the front door opened and Johann Schneider walked in with Jäger at his heels. Jade followed in after, her shirt torn and bloodied but looking completely healthy. She nearly bumped into Johann's back as he came to a sudden stop.

"What is…?" Johann looked from Siddharth sitting on the chair with the laptop in front of him and then to Rose slumped on the sofa, bleeding all over it and looking very pale. "Who is…?" Then he shook his head. "No matter." Johann immediately walked forward, rolling up his sleeves and pulling off his watch, casually throwing it aside. "What do you think you are doing?" Johann dropped to one knee next to Murphy and scanned the maw of Rose's leg with an analytical eye. He tutted, immediately unwrapped the make-shift tourniquet Murphy had placed below Rose's knee.

"What are you—"

"For an injury so close to the knee you are doing her no favours tying this underneath," Johann said. "Hold her for me, _do not_ bend it! There we go, hold it straight." Johann looked to Sticks. "Kitchen, second drawer from the left, a pair of scissors." Sticks immediately obeyed and disappeared into the kitchen as Johann looked at Bethany. "The cupboard in the corner, I have a first aid kit. Get it for me." She ran over to the corner and Johann looked to Murphy. "While you at least staunched the bleeding this is awful work, here, help me move her." Johann stood and put his hands under Rose's armpits. "Hold the injured leg steady, _steady,_ good."

Johann moved Rose so she was lying straight on the sofa, not at a slump. "Get some cushions, rest her leg on them so it is above – there, perfect," Murphy followed Johann's directions and propped Rose's bleeding leg on a small pile of cushions. "Keep pressure on the wound!" Johann ensured and Murphy quickly placed his hands over the torn muscle and skin though it seemed he wasn't sure where to put his hands. "Get in there, son," Johann said as he peered over Rose's face. "You need to put your hand _over_ the arterial bleed else you're just holding muscle and nothing much else."

"But—"

" _Now!_ "

Murphy nodded, took a breath, and gently pushed his hand into the wound, pushing lightly against the source of the bleeding.

"Good, not too much pressure now, good," Johann nodded just as Sticks reappeared.

"Here," Sticks said and Johann reached up and took the scissors. "Good. Come where I am, hold her head. If she wakes up she's going to thrash, okay? That will only aggravate the wound." Sticks took Johann's place and held Rose's head gingerly with his hands. "If she wakes up, put your hands on her shoulders and push her down, got it?"

"Got it."

"Good," Johann moved next to Murphy and started cutting up the side of Rose's jeans. "You should have removed the fabric before you applied the tourniquet," Johann said as he expertly sliced up the seams of the leg. "Hold the leg up, yes, there we go," he circled Rose's thigh before finally peeling off the cut fabric of her jeans. "Well done on washing the wound, though. That should stave off infection." Johann looked up. "Ms Cross, where is the first aid kit?"

"Got it," and Bethany quickly passed the first aid kit to Johann. Johann fished through it and came out with a long square piece of fabric that he rolled up and pulled tight. "Ms Cross, help your friend in holding him down."

As Bethany moved over to Sticks, Johann gently threaded the fabric under Rose's thigh, just above the knee. He pulled it up, crossed it over, pulled tied and then tied it into a knot. With this done he pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and asked the room, "How long has she been bleeding?"

Siddharth immediately answered. "Just about fifty minutes."

" _Fifty minutes?"_ Johann echoed and immediately rummaged in the first aid kit. "She would have lost a _lot_ of blood in that time. Perhaps too much blood. Nevertheless, we cannot allow her to lose much more." He raised a needle and looked at it with a critical eye. "I am going to have to suture the artery closed. This is not the most sanitary of environments but it will have to do. Mr Sticks, Ms Cross, continue to hold her upper body down. Mr Murphy, hold her leg gently but firmly. Jade, please fetch me a jug of water from the kitchen. I am going to need you to gently dribble water on the wound so I can see what I am doing." Johann wiped the sweat off his forehead. "If we work as a team we may just be able to save this woman's life."

"W-What can I do?" Siddharth asked with wide eyes, watching everyone prepare themselves.

Johann looked to him sternly. "You explain exactly who you are and why you did not get this woman to a hospital."

* * *

 _10:23 CET_

"This just gets more and more intriguing," Johann said as he pulled the thread tightly, snipping an end off and tying off a small knot. He pulled back and wiped a spatter of blood from his cheek with his forearm before pulling off his bloodied gloves, dropping them into a plastic bag offered by Jade; Johann had to admit that he was impressed by Jade Skysong's assistance, having kept a steady aim with the water as well as getting him any supplies he needed from the first aid kit. Perhaps in another life they were surgeon and assistant. He looked at Siddharth. "You are saying that this Gabriel Evrard is after your lives?"

"Yes," Siddharth nodded.

"Should we expect to be threatened as well?" Johann asked, reaching into the first aid kit for gauze and bandages.

"I…" Siddharth licked his lips for a moment and stared at Rose's almost peaceful face. "…I think that is likely. Evrard does tend to keep grudges. He'll want to be rid of all witnesses."

"So it sounds like we are on more than one list," Johann nodded as he wrapped the bandage around the gauze on top of Rose's wound. "Double the threat, indeed. Though it sounds to me as though this Director is much more of a threat. We can manage Death's List, it seems. A human being shall be much more errant."

"How can such a guy be a director for a government organisation?" Jade asked.

"You'll find… in recent years… that the DSI has been, well, corrupted would be a good term." He raised his hands quickly. "There _are_ good ones. Lisa Valentine, George Davis, Zeina Morcos, to name a few. People who follow what the original DSI's ideals were. But the Department of Supernatural Investigation turned from supernatural investigation to supernatural fixation. We used to solve crimes… now we're content to watch and wait for this 'Doomsday Clock'. It has sent a schism through the organisation… to the point where they'll kill valuable assets without thought. Jamie Root, myself, Rose, Axel… we are all cogs in the machine who have good abilities that can help the DSI but per Evrard's request all of that is thrown under the rug."

Quiet reigned over the room as Johann finished up bandaging the leg. He tied the bandage in a neat knot, tucking it under one of the folds. With the bandage showing two halves of Rose's leg, it was clear how much of a colour difference there was. Her lower leg and foot were almost completely white now and Johann heavily suspected that Rose Milano would never be able to use that leg again. He decided to sit on this information for now in lieu of keeping Siddharth talkative.

However, the silence was broken by a sudden crashing and a racket that could wake the dead. An engine revved, metal squawked and screeched, deep thuds echoed over the neighbourhood and finally everything grew silent. After a few moments, Sticks started walking to the door. "That sounded like my drums… that better not be my fuckin' drums!"

"Sticks, hey," Bethany called but Sticks was already out of the door. She quickly followed him out onto the street and paused at what she saw. The side of their van – of her and Kingsley's van – had been buckled in by something and one of the back doors was hanging off, leaving Sticks' drum set to cascade across the floor. They heard another crash in the distance and looked to the end of the road where a brown family car hit the corner of a low wall before skidding around the corner and out of sight.

"My drums!" Sticks picked up one of his cymbals. "My fuckin'- Beth!" His shout cut through the sky and Bethany looked up just in time to see the lamppost that had been looking over Johann's house was tilted and bent, evidently being hit by the car. But now it was falling through the air in a graceful arc. Bethany tensed her muscles to prepare to jump out of the way but Jade came from out of nowhere, tackling into her with the expert precision of a rugby player. Bethany hit the floor and watched in horror as the lamppost cracked so hard into Jade's head that her head twisted with a sickening crunch.

Jade stumbled on her feet as the lamppost crashed to the floor with a flower of sparks. Her head was almost twisted completely one-hundred-and-eighty degrees, the skin folded like disturbing origami. Sticks and Bethany stared at Jade, horrified. Then Jade put her hands on either side of her head and with another – _Crack! –_ twisted her head back to the right angle. The disturbed folds of her skin tightened to their usual rigidity and a small trickle of blood slipped down the corner of Jade's mouth. She took in a deep breath and smiled a sloppy grin at Bethany.

"Gotta love that sweet, sweet Nectar."

* * *

 _09:32 GMT_

 _Pwllhei, Wales_

In the hour since the Donahughe tunnel had collapsed, a horde of vehicles had turned up in full force. Ambulances had arrived to treat those that were suffering injuries, police had turned up to find out just what had happened, there were boats that were looking for both survivors and the dead that may have floated to the surface, and there were even two helicopters – one police and one ambulance – working in tandem to locate survivors.

All in all the entrance to the Donahughe tunnel had become a hub of activity and terror. Yet the scene surrounding the remaining half of the Sanders family was filled with tension. Alisha sat on a bench, with Tanzi sitting silently by her side. Axel and Jamie stood together, talking quietly and looking nervously at all the vehicles. Patrick Sanders sat in solitude by a small concrete building, occasionally glancing up at Axel but it was clear Axel was keeping a very close eye on the patriarch of the Sanders family even while talking to Jamie.

Leslie sat cross-legged on the pavement, Ruby's notebook opened in front of him. He had updated the List he had written down, following in the tracks of Ruby's own that she had written down before. There was a strange sense of finality at crossing off Derek Sanders' name. Leslie looked at a large square that had been cordoned off and where over twenty bodies and counting had been covered in white sheets. Somewhere among there lay Derek after having been recovered by Axel.

Leslie had to look away and focused on the police helicopter sweeping over them after having dropped off one more survivor. He couldn't help but wonder if Derek's fate was to be his own sooner than later. Would he be tucked under a white sheet as if he had just gone to sleep? Leslie had thought about a death a lot since the Eastbourne explosions but Naomi had always told him he was too young to think about such things.

"How're you holding up?"

Leslie turned back to find that Tanzi had made her way over. "Better than her, I suppose," he said, indicating Alisha. "How is she doing?"

"Not great," Tanzi admitted. "I suppose we can't blame her for that though, can we?" Tanzi stared at the bench where Alisha sat before sitting down next to Leslie. "I'm sorry we dragged you into this, Leslie."

Leslie simply shrugged and closed the notepad, trailing his finger across the cover. "Well… neither of us had much in the way of options, did we? You had to try and get everyone together and that makes sense… and I couldn't have stayed there." Leslie looked around at the disaster caused by the Donahughe bridge collapse. "If… If this is what happens to someone on the List… these casualties, these innocent people… then I wouldn't have wanted to bring that on Naomi and the rest. I don't want anything to happen to that mansion or the people within it… after everything they have done, everything that it stands for…" Leslie shook his head furiously. "I don't want that."

"That's brave."

Leslie shook his head. "I don't think so. I haven't done anything. It's been you, Jamie, Axel… I've just been along for the ride, I guess."

Tanzi looked to Leslie with an expression that looked like it could see right through him. "Does that bother you? Not… doing anything?"

Leslie took a moment to answer. "I… I always like helping. Back at the mansion, I would read the younger kids stories or teach them sports or just play with them. It helped them feel happy and accepted where a world seems so constantly to ignore them. But being out here… I feel like I _want_ to help… but I know I can't help. Axel and Jamie are some kind of trained soldiers and you have that ability of yours… I'm just a kid way out of his depth."

"Do you think Ruby will forgive me for borrowing her smile?"

This took Leslie off guard. "What?"

"My ability lets me use attributes from the last person I touch," Tanzi said. "If I touched a teacher, I'd suddenly know their subject matter. If I touched Jamie over there I'd be able to kick all kinds of ass. But the last person I touched was Ruby. And in all my experiences Ruby had that one thing that nobody else had: unending optimism. And that optimism often came from this."

And Tanzi smiled and for a moment it felt like Ruby Ascot was sitting right beside Leslie, the sun gleaming down on her red hair while she laughed and gave the advice she was always so good at giving. The moment seemed to last forever but finally Tanzi let the smile slip and Ruby was gone.

"…Thank you…" Leslie said.

"No problem. You and I both know the power of that smile," Tanzi said.

"How to we stop this?" Leslie asked.

Tanzi considered her words carefully. "I know Siddharth is looking for solutions."

"And if he doesn't find any?"

"…Then we keep our courage up, eh?" Tanzi playfully punched Leslie on the shoulder and hopped to her feet. "Don't worry, Leslie. We'll find a way to end this." Then her expression changed as she looked up to the sky. "What's going on?"

Leslie followed her gaze and saw that the police helicopter was hovering in the air but moving in a strange pattern, back and forth. The blades seemed to flicker and even seemed to be… getting slower?

"Leslie…" Tanzi warned, taking a step towards Leslie. The blades suddenly jolted to a stop and the helicopter started to drop out of the air, a bird without flight. Other people had seen it and were now pointing and yelling. "Get up, Leslie,"

But Leslie could only stare in surprise as the helicopter dropped through the air – directly to his spot. It was like everything had suddenly decided to go slow. He could see the pilot struggling fruitlessly with the controls, could see Jamie and Axel pulling away from their conversation, could see Tanzi reaching forward with outstretched hands…

"Move!" Tanzi grabbed a fistful of Leslie's shirt, picked him up off the floor and threw him boldly forward. Leslie hit the road hard, scraping his hands, but the falling helicopter soared straight over his head and crashed into the road with the screaming of metal on tarmac. For a moment he saw Tanzi standing then he saw her engulfed by the helicopter as it skidded directly into her. The helicopter carved through the concrete of the pavement before shuddering to a stop – the nose of the helicopter completely bent and broken. Leslie could only stand there uselessly before he came back to his senses.

"Tanzi!" Leslie circled the helicopter and then drew to a stop with a gasp. Tanzi was sitting on the floor, looking down at her crimson hands in shock. The blood had come from a massive gouge in her chest where the split metal of the helicopter's nose had carved into her. Tanzi opened her mouth and a splash of blood fell into her lap. "No!" Leslie scampered close and fell to his knees next to Tanzi, clutching her shoulders. "No, no, no!"

Tanzi turned her head to look at him and opened her mouth as if to reassure him but more blood bubbled out over her lips. She fell backwards but Leslie was quick to grab her before she hit the floor. This close he could see the damage caused to her chest and stomach. Between torn muscle and the flood of blood it looked like a few ribs were poking out, revealed to the daylight.

"Tanzi…" Leslie felt her blood spread on his chest and felt absolutely useless. She had just saved his life but… at such a cost… he barely even noticed as Jamie sprinted up to their side. He looked up at her absently and said, "She… she got me out of the… the way…"

"Leslie, do not panic, okay?" Jamie crouched down and gently took Tanzi's weight from him. She gently lowered her down to the road. "She'll heal from this. She'll be fine."

"H-Heal?" Leslie croaked.

"Yes," Jamie confirmed as she looked over Tanzi. Her eyebrows lowered, confused. "She should be healing…" Jamie had seen it before, had seen Tanzi get injured only for it to heal up as if it had never happened. A result from ingesting the nectar back at Eastbourne. It had always been slow going but Jamie had always been able to see Tanzi healing but this time… the flesh was staying ominously still, the blood continuing to flow like a dam had been burst. "Tanzi?" Panic started to set in as Jamie leaned over Tanzi's face. "Tanzi, can you hear me? Tanzi?"

Tanzi's eyes suddenly opened and they looked at Jamie, matching her panic. "I-I-Is…" Tanzi's eyes darted back and forth. "…Not… w-w-working…"

"It _will_ work," Jamie assured, pressing her hand on Tanzi's shoulder. "It just… it just needs a little time, that's all."

Tanzi coughed, a spattering of dark blood trickling down her lips. "It w-w-was always… t-temporary…"

Jamie grit her teeth shut and forced herself not to believe such things. Over the course of her time with Tanzi she had grown to think of her as a good friend and to see her like this… so soon after William and Mike's deaths… "Come on, Tanzi… Just… Just stay awake, alright, and it'll kick in…"

"…" Tanzi squeezed her eyes shut then opened them to look at Leslie. "Tell… tell her… thank you…"

Leslie simply nodded. What else could he do? Then something strange seemed to happen before his eyes. Was it his imagination or was the skin surrounding the gaping wound pulling closer, centimetre by centimetre. Jamie had also noticed the skin moving. "It's happening, Tanzi, I told you! You'll be alright in no time." The blood finally stopped, the exposed ribs disappeared under the muscles and slowly everything seemed to knit itself back together, piece by piece.

Finally the only evidence that Tanzi had even had a wound was the torn shirt and blood staining her, Jamie, and Leslie. Tanzi managed to let off a very small chuckle. "Well, whaddya know?" She said weakly. "Just… I don't think I'd be able to take on a helicopter again…"


	39. Crush

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

 **Crush**

 _10:40 CET_

 _Vienna, Austria_

Sebastian leaned forward in his chair, trying to ignore the murmurs coming from behind him. The teacher was completely oblivious to the mutters as he droned on at the front of the class, writing on the whiteboard in undecipherable scribbles. Yet no matter how much he tried to lean away from the mutterings Sebastian couldn't stop them from digging into his ears.

"...vor Lukas geweint..."

"So ein Weichei."

"Lässt sich einfach herumschieben."

Sebastian ground his teeth together and stared out the window where the rain was pummelling down the school grounds as it had been all morning. Why couldn't he get any peace, even in a class? People were always talking about him without a care as to whether he could hear them or not. Half of him wondered whether Lukas had put them up to it but the other half knew that it was simply gossip among students that he happened to be the butt of. Lukas didn't need to play the puppet master when everyone was playing to his tune anyway.

"Er ist so ein Feigling."

Sebastian couldn't stop himself and stood up, the chair falling behind him. The teacher stopped and all Sebastian's classmates looked up at him in bated silence. Feeling all their eyes upon him Sebastian felt the heat growing to his cheeks and eyes. He opened his mouth to make some kind of excuse to go to the toilets but realised that even trying to speak a word would let the tears free and he couldn't do that in the middle of the classroom, couldn't give the students that satisfaction. Instead he moved quickly and left the stifling room, letting the door swing shut with a crash that rattled the window.

He strode across the corridor, down the two flights of stairs, through the foyer and out one of the back doors into the grounds. The rain immediately drenched him to the skin but Sebastian paid it no mind as he ignored the path, marching straight through the grass field, the mud squelching under his trainers. As he made his way to the back of the field at the southern edge of the school, Sebastian knew that what he had just done would come back to bite him hard. It would earn him a suspension, he expected, and his father would be told what he had done.

The beatings would be extra vicious tonight and this thought made Sebastian speed up, pushing through the muddy puddles permeating the field.

A small squat building rested in the corner of the field and this was where Sebastian stopped, breathing hard and his shoulders heaving. The building used to be for the groundskeeper but since he had a heart attack a month ago the school hadn't been able to get a replacement. The large tools hung on rusted hooks on the outside of the shed, a shovel, a pitchfork, a rake and a broom. Sebastian moved to where the back of the shed connected with the fence that surrounded the perimeter of the school grounds and sat down, ignoring the mud splashing over his legs and fingers.

It was a spot Sebastian had picked out as his own for as long as he had been at the school, hidden away from the rest of the students. Coming here unlocked the feelings within him and Sebastian bent over, the tears coming up strong. Today had been one of the worst days he had had for a long while. He was still nursing the bruises on his ribs from his father in the morning, then there had been the situation with Lukas on the hill and now all the mutterings and taunting he had received all day long.

With his head in his hands Sebastian didn't see anyone approach until a sudden spattering of mud covered his face from fringe to chin. He wiped away the mud in his eyes to see Lukas standing there with a cocksure grin on his face, surrounded by two of his thuggish friends.

"Was machst du hier unten?" Lukas asked, his eyes gleaming with menace. Sebastian couldn't even deign to respond, the misery increasing tenfold. Lukas must have seen him come here and now even his safe place at school wasn't safe anymore. He pushed himself to his feet and attempted to walk past Lukas without a word. "Geh nicht von mir weg!" Lukas grabbed a handful of Sebastian's coat and threw him against the shed wall with enough force to make the tools shudder and the rake to fall off into the mud.

"Ich denke du brauchst eine lektion in respekt, Sebastian." Lukas sneered and threw a fist into Sebastian's ribs, where the bruises were already formed. Sebastian let out a yell of pain and fell to the mud again, snivelling. Lukas gave a look to his friends and then all three of them started kicking Sebastian with mud-stained boots. It was all Sebastian could do to curl up and feel the kicks hitting his knees, his arms, the back of his neck. He wanted the mud to swallow him up but there was no hope as pain lanced all around his body.

The point of the shovel gleamed over Sebastian's cowering figure as Lukas and his two friends continued to beat down the boy. Each kick sent vibrations running through the wooden wall of the shed and the shovel shook closer and closer to the end of the hook.

"Halt!" Lukas held back his friends and reached down, grabbing Sebastian around the collar and pulling him up just as the shovel slipped from its hook, embedding itself with a _thunk_ right where Sebastian's head had just been lying in the mud. The movement distracted Lukas for a moment and Sebastian suddenly leaned forward and latched his teeth around Lukas' shoulder, through his shirt. Lukas let out a pained cry and let go of Sebastian, dropping him into the mud against.

Sebastian scrambled up to his feet and found red bubbling up behind his eyelids. This was too much, too much! For Lukas and his friends to come to his safe place, to kick him when he was down, to taunt him and hurt him and… Sebastian hadn't even realised he had grabbed the shovel before he had swung it and connected with the temple of one of Lukas' friends. The larger boy dropped to the mud and Sebastian didn't feel a thing. He looked at the second boy and could feel a voice niggling in the back of his mind.

 _…Hurt him…_

Sebastian saw no reason to disobey this voice and swept the shovel in a high arc again, catching the second boy on the side of the head, just to the eye. The blade of the shovel split the boy's face head open like a melon as Sebastian pulled the shovel away and turned towards Lukas. The bully who had tormented him for so many years was cowering, stricken down by fear. "Warte warte warte!" Lukas pleaded, falling to his rear and scrambling back in the mud.

… _Kill him…_

The first swing of the shovel caught Lukas in the jaw with a horrifying _crack_. White teeth spilt into the grass to be lost among the mud. The second strike caught him just above the ear. Sebastian swung the shovel like a man possessed, again, and again, and again, speckles of blood spitting against his face only to get washed away by the heavy rain. _He deserves this_ , the voice hissed in Sebastian's ear, _he deserves to wallow in the mud like the filth that he is! Hit him! Hit him again! Again!_

* * *

 _10:46 CET  
Berlin, German_

Rose eyes flickered open, the image of her dream disappearing as soon as she tried to remember it. She thought she could remember lots of rain and mud in the dream but she couldn't be sure. Looking up at the white roof, she took a moment to remember where she was. That's right, it was the professor's house… had he come back? She remembered having a vision that would indicate that his turn on the list had come and gone.

"Ah, you are awake, my dear." Rose turned to find a kindly looking elderly man who could only be Johann Schneider. She went to move but the professor gently put a hand on her shoulder. "It is better not to aggravate your leg for the moment."

Rose looked down to her leg to see that the leg of her jeans had been cut off and that the wound just below her knee had been wrapped neatly with white bandages. Her eyes drifted to the pallid colour of the leg underneath the bandage for a moment. It didn't exactly look healthy. She looked past the professor and around the room to see only a large dog sitting on a bed in the corner and Siddharth in an armchair.

"Hi," Rose said weakly.

"Hey," Siddharth smiled at her though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "How're you feeling?"

"A lot better," Rose said. "But where are the Skyhawks? They haven't gone, have they?"

"No," Siddharth said. "There was a… well, an incident out front." Siddharth took a breath. "Rose, Sam's gone. The Skyhawks are clearing up the mess she made of their van.

"Gone? What do you mean… Why?" Rose blinked, confused.

"Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid. It's… possible… that the man I threatened somehow accosted her…" Siddharth shook his head. "But it looks like Sam was driving. Along with the Skyhawk's van, there were other things hit as if the person driving didn't know _how_ to drive."

"We'll find her," Rose said firmly. She truly believed the Sam was going to stay with them so if she drove off like that she must have had a good reason. Instead, Rose turned to the professor. "Do I have you to thank for treating me?"

"I merely worked with what I had," Johann said with a small smile. "I may have treated the wound but I believe Mr Murphy saved your life with his quick thinking. It may not have been neat but it was, at least, acceptable."

"Huh…" Rose nodded. Everything before she had lost consciousness was a mixed blur but she could now remember Murphy cleaning the wound and doing his best to keep her awake with conversation. He said to call him Seamus…

 _White sheets were laid in rows, spread out like gravestones. The blue of water shines on horizon. A flash of angers runs through the air. Shouting, accusations, truths and lies. Then the sound of a siren above all else, the flickering of blue lights, the squeal of brakes…_

Rose let in a sharp intake of breath and looked wildly at Siddharth. "I-I remember! My dreams… they were clues… but… but they've gone by. Its Alisha's turn, it has to be." Rose squeezed her eyes shut in anger. Even while she was unconscious, the List was still turning. If it was Alisha's turn then that meant Bethany, Leslie… the boy they couldn't identify – the three of their turns had already gone past. Once again Rose had to wonder why the List was going by so far. She had never seen anything like this in all of her research.

* * *

 _09:50 GMT  
_ _Pwllhei, Wales_

Staring down at the white sheet, Alisha felt almost hollow. Under that sheet, her half-brother lay, an empty husk of who he had once been. That… _thing_ … under the sheet, that wasn't Derek, not anymore. All she had left of Derek were memories and of those memories there were very few good ones. Alisha had never considered Derek a true member of her family even though they shared the same father. She had put all her hatred in her mother's supposed accident onto him that she had never given him the respect he deserved.

Now she thought back on it, she wondered how Derek was able to keep so calm and collected with her. He had never lost his temper, he had never shouted at her, blamed her, even so much as hinted at a distaste for her. Derek had acted the older brother and she had acted like a stubborn child. Derek sought to protect her yet she tugged out of his grasp and every moment. Yet there he was, whenever she had partied too hard, or got into the wrong crowd, or even struggled with her exams, Derek was there to give advice whether or not she wanted it.

If only she knew… if only she knew how much of a bastard they shared in a father, perhaps everything would have turned out differently. Perhaps she could have loved him as a brother but now it was far too late. Derek was dead and he wasn't coming back. It was only her and Patrick now, the last vestiges of the Sanders family and what a poor excuse the two of them were for survivors. She, a borderline alcoholic who enjoyed dabbling in drugs, and he, a murdering psychopathic scumbag.

"I-I didn't mean for this to happen…"

The words stabbed at her like a hot knife and she turned to Patrick Sanders who had walked silently up beside her. It seemed in all the confusion of the helicopter crash that he had snuck away from his miserable corner. She could see Axel still keeping his eye on him, though, even as he was helping with the scene of the accident.

"What did you expect?" Alisha snarled, the anger in her voice unyielding. "You left us to die."

"He was my son."

"And I am your daughter." Alisha pointed to a second sheet next to Derek's. "She was your wife. Your left us all."

"I wanted to live."

"Congratulations. You're alive." Alisha shook her head in disgust. "You didn't even try. You didn't even look at us. You just swam away."

"…I regret it, if that helps."

"If that helps?" Alisha turned to her father in amazement. "If that _helps_? Are you kidding me right now?" She felt the fury inside of her and turned away to watch an ambulance pull up near the wrecked helicopter to pick up the helicopter pilot – one of only a few serious injuries that warranted being taken to a hospital on the spot. She looked back to Patrick. "It doesn't help. It never will. They're and never coming back and that's because of you. That's on your shoulders. I don't believe it… _If it helps_ … you know what would have helped? You moving the front seat so we could climb through the front and leave through your door. You didn't even think of that. You just cared about your own life and couldn't give a crap what happened to everybody else. Is that what happened with mum? You sacrificed her to the Irish mob so you get to live another day, to lead a new life?"

"You don't know what happened with your mother…"

"So tell me!" Alisha got close to Patrick. "Do something good and tell me! Are you telling me that her death isn't your fault? 'Cause if so you're a fuckin' liar! All my life you've lied to me… I thought you were the perfect dad any little girl could want to! I actually had the decency to feel bad when you were disappointed with my grades or my friends or my activities but all that was absolutely nothing to you, wasn't it? You just played the part of doting dad when you worked for the fuckin' Irish mob!"

Alisha stopped as if suddenly realising something. "That's why you didn't care when I was hangin' out with Aiden Byrne, why you didn't even try to stop me. 'Cause his parents were rumoured to be part of the mob. You were too damn scared to try and stop me so you just let me. Derek had to drag me out of that place, you know? The things I was doin'… the things I was gonna do… It disgusts me! Derek got me out because he actually had a backbone! Something he obviously didn't inherit from you!"

A moment of silence reigned over her outburst. The sirens of the ambulance echoed over the square as it started to move but Alisha's voice had drew many eyes though she didn't care who was listening any more.

"Alisha…" Patrick tried.

"Don't! Don't you fuckin' dare say my name! Don't you dare pretend like you give a crap! I know the truth now, I know the kind of mind you are and I know that you'd do anything if it preserved your own skin! You're a leech! All of _this-"_ Alisha beckoned with her arms. "This is 'cause of you. We were taken away from our own home because of you! We were threatened because of you!"

"I tried to keep you safe!"

"Yeah, I'm sure they fuckin' appreciate that," she gestured to the sheets. "I'm sure they feel fuckin' cozy wherever they are! I mean, they'd have to be 'cause they know that they're exactly the opposite of where you're goin'! 'Cause when you meet your maker you're going down to the hottest parts of hell, reserved for absolute scum like you!" Alisha's voice was shrill but she didn't even care. All her feelings welled up inside her like a raging fire, burning up any reluctance she had. "I hope you _do_ regret fleeing like the coward you are! I hope you live for years and years, the _guilt_ slowly eatin' away at you! I hope they haunt you every step of the way! I hope you live penniless on the street, givin' your body for cash and hopin' that it'll be enough to keep you going! Then when the cold hits and you're hiding under a cardboard sheet I hope you see them, I hope the guilt eats you and eats you until you're old, grey, miserable, alone, with not a penny to your name. I want you suffer, to rot, to fuckin' fall apart at the seams! I want—"

"ENOUGH!" That anger that flashed over Patrick back at the house took over again and he shoved the palms of his hands into Alisha's chest, knocking her back. She stumbled back into the road as the sirens grew louder in her ears.

Everything seemed to go slow as Alisha glanced to her left to see the ambulance rising toward her like a great beast. She actually saw horror pass over her father's face. But it was too late, he had killed her, just like he had killed Marianne, just like he had killed Derek… but in the corner of her eye she saw him. The man called Axel. But what could a man do against an ambulance at full-speed?

Then everything sped up. Alisha swore she saw a glint of silver because the ambulance suddenly came to a sudden and shuddering stop, smoke hissing out of the bonnet. The burst of smoke slowly rose into the air and Alisha saw Axel standing in front of a massive dent in the front of the ambulance but at the same time, it _wasn't_ Axel…

The big man looked like he was completely covered in metal, gleaming in the sunlight. Both his hair and his moustache had turned as wiry as a shoe-brush and his eyes had turned as white as a blind man's. Then Axel moved with the creaking of metal and stood like a statue. He peered his head around to the entire crowd gasping and muttering and pointing at him. Then the metallic Axel Daunhauer's gaze looked on Patrick Sanders.

"Dummkopf," Axel whispered, taking a step forward. "You would sacrifice your own daughter…" Every step he took the creak of metal followed. A faint imprint of the metal remained in the tarmac behind him as if he somehow weighed more than he did before. Patrick Sanders couldn't even move before the man – if Axel was _really_ a man and not some kind of monster – stopped directly in front of him.

"W-W-W-What are you?" Patrick finally found his voice.

"Axel?!" Jamie rushed over with Tanzi by her side. Amongst her stupor, Alisha thought that Tanzi was looking particularly healthy for having just been caught by the helicopter when she had saved Leslie. But all her thoughts focused back in on Axel and her father soon enough.

"Ich werde dich nicht betrauern," Axel spoke, his voice grating like the gears of a great machine. In one sudden movement he raised his arms and latched his hands on either side of Patrick's head, each finger like a steel rod.

"N-No-No, don't, please, please, don't, I-I-I please, stop, please! " Patrick pleaded.

"Stop!" Jamie reached up and grabbed one arm and Tanzi grabbed the other, but no matter how hard they pulled Axel's metallic arms did not budge one inch. It was at that point that Alisha realised what was happening, what Axel was intending… and she found that she wanted to watch as close as possible.

Axel starting pushing his hands together on either side of Patrick Sanders head. At first it looked like nothing was happening as Patrick started to shake and whimper. Then thick dark blood dripped out of his nose, his ears, and his lips, trailing down his face. The veins were popping on his forehead as Tanzi and Jamie fruitlessly tried to pull at Axel's arms. Yet he pushed and he pushed and—

 _CRACK!_

All of a sudden Patrick Sanders' head became a pulp of broken bone, brains, and gristle amongst Axel's metallic palms. Alisha watched with strange satisfaction as the _thing_ that was once her father fell to its knees, the head now a mess remaining on Axel's hands. It tipped over and fell to the floor and all Alisha could think was that Patrick Sanders should have suffered more for all that he had done to his family.


	40. Hacking the Hacker

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

 **Hacking the Hacker**

 _10:01 GMT_

 _Pwllhei, Wales_

"Axel," Jamie Root watched the blood drip down the rivets of Axel's metallic hands before looking to the crowd that had gathered around them. "What have you done?" Horrified expressions were etched on the onlooker's faces, having just witnessed the gristly death of Patrick Sanders. Then a camera flash burst over them and it was like the dam had burst as many of the onlookers started taking pictures, the flashes casting Jamie and Axel in the glare.

"We need to go," Tanzi murmured, pulling at Axel's arm in an attempt to get his attention. "We need to move before—"

"Stop!" One of the few police officers who were helping in the rescue attempt of the collapsed tunnel ran over, pulling out a black Taser and pointing it at Axel. "Get on the floor, now! No sudden movements!"

Axel slowly turned his head, regarding the police officer with a look that could make flowers wilt. "Mach weiter. _I dare you_." Axel took a step forward and the officer fired the Taser. Two prongs struck Axel point blank in the chest but simply bounced off with a small _clang_. The officer's eyes widened as Axel reached forward and plucked the Taser out of his stunned grip. He placed it in the palm of his still bloody hand and crushed the plastic into a small ball.

With the officer frozen in fear at the impossible man in front of him, Axel turned to Jamie. "We must be gone," he strode over towards the crowd and with frightened gasps they dived aside, allowing Axel to reach the nearest car. He rapped his knuckle on the window and it shattered with the merest touch. The metal on his skin started to fade away, the bristles of his hair becoming loose again and the blue of his eyes coming back into prominence. Just like that Axel's form was back to human but in front of all the eyes it was clear he was _more_ than human.

Axel climbed into the driver's seat of the broken-in car and leaned down, starting to fiddle with something underneath the wheel. Jamie watched Axel warily as she got into the passenger seat, keeping her lips thinly closed. Tanzi held the car door open to let Leslie tentatively climb in before pausing and turning to Alisha. The girl was still staring at her father's corpse but under Tanzi's gaze she looked up. Alisha looked at Tanzi, then to the crowd that were still standing back in fear yet taking photos – including Alisha and the body on the floor. At that point she knew that she couldn't stay and moved forward, joining Tanzi in the back seat of the stolen car.

The engine roared to life and Axel straightened up, having successfully hotwired the car. He immediately reversed, spun around, and drove away from the crowd as the police officer muttered hurriedly into his radio. When they were far enough away, Jamie turned in her seat to look at Axel with wide eyes. "What the _hell_ were you thinking, Axel?"

Axel's eyes didn't waver from the road. "I wasn't."

"You used your Ability in front of… of hundreds! Our photos will be circulating around social media including what you can do! Christ, man, the DSI don't reveal Abilities for a very specific reason!"

"We're not DSI anymore."

"The point still stands! That—That's going to be the spark that screws everyone with Abilities over! If they know people with strange, fantastic abilities exist then there'll be hunting them down for being different, for not being what they _perceive_ as human! Christ, Axel, all that just to kill a single man?!" Jamie quickly glanced to Alisha, wincing. "I'm sorry."

"…He deserved to die…" Alisha murmured, never looking away from Axel. She suspected that Axel must have been lying about working for the mob but who were these people really? What were the DSI? She had many questions on the tip of her tongue but she was still struggling to capture her feelings on everything that had happened in the last two hours.

"We're going to have to switch vehicles before they get the full force of the police on us," Tanzi said. "At least your appearance shocked everyone enough that action wasn't really taken but… Christ…" Tanzi shook her head, exasperated. "This just got a lot more difficult."

* * *

 _11:07 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Siddharth shook his head in disbelief as he scrolled through the images that had popped up on the front-page of various social media sites. For a little while it had been about the collapse of the Donahughe Tunnel but now it had suddenly changed into the appearance of a man made of metal and there was no doubt that the man of metal in all these pictures was that of Axel. There were flashes of Jamie and Tanzi in some of the pictures but the focus was on the impossible man made of steel. "This is _not_ good."

"What's wrong?" Rose asked from her position still lying on the sofa. Sticks, Murphy, and Jade were all in the living room as well though Bethany had to step out to answer one of the insistent phone-calls from her manager. Johann had slipped back into his office to continue his research with Jäger in tow.

Siddharth grimly rotated his laptop to show the four the images. Rose drew back in surprise though the Skyhawks seemed confused. "What's so special about that statue?" Sticks asked.

"That's the thing. It isn't a statue," Rose leaned back into her pillows. "That's Axel Daunhauer. One of our companions we told you about."

"You failed to mention he was made of metal," Jade said with a small smile playing on her lips as if she couldn't believe what she was looking at.

"What's on his hands?" Murphy leaned forward. "Is that… blood?"

Ignoring Murphy's question – and keeping the pictures that clearly showed the mutilated body at Axel's feet – Siddharth looked firmly at Rose. "Did you know he had an Ability?"

Rose shook her head. "No… He never mentioned… Though I'm surprised you didn't know, Siddharth. Doesn't the DSI keep a secure database of known Ability users? I would have thought that would have been one of the things you would have immediately looked into."

"I did on my first day of coming to the DSI," Siddharth nodded. "And kept track of it ever since. But Axel was never on there. That's kind of weird considering the DSI employs him."

"Well, they'll know now," Rose said as she closed her eyes. "What prompted him to turn into _that_ in front of so many people?"

"Woah, woah, slow down," Sticks said, raising his hands. "What the hell are these Abilities you're talking about? "

Siddharth spun the laptop around again before looking to Sticks, contemplating whether he ought to tell the Skyhawks about people with Abilities. Finally, Siddharth let out a sigh and said, "Over the course of human history – especially recently – there have been people reported to have special Abilities. Talking to ghosts, change an aspect of their body, fly, that kind of thing. One of the DSI's main goals is to keep control on people with Abilities. If someone with an Ability is discovered then the DSI will confront and attempt to recruit the target."

"…Superpowers?" Sticks' eyes widened considerably. "You telling me Superheroes exist?"

Siddharth shook his head quickly. "People with these Abilities are normal people, Sticks, people like you or me. People who want nothing more than to live their lives. Often times they hide their Abilities or don't even discover they _have_ one until strong emotions draw it out of them. Usually this would happen somewhere private - though it has been known to happen in public. The DSI will do everything they can to eliminate any evidence and bribe any witnesses until Ability users are nothing more than stories told on the schoolyard." He tapped away on the laptop. "Even these images are being deleted, no doubt the DSI's work but… this time… this time I think too many people have seen Axel. Even the DSI might not be able to sweep this one under the rug."

Murphy leaned forward. "What happens if the DSI can't recruit their 'target', as you put it?"

"What else do you do with a target?" Siddharth asked grimly. "The fact of the matter is, if the DSI can't have them then nobody else can as well."

"They _kill_ them?" Jade asked, shocked. "They kill innocent people who have these… these… Abilities? Just like that?"

"I'm afraid that is what the DSI has turned into," Siddharth said. "It used to be different… it used to mean something else… but it's not quite so simple anymore."

"Director Evrard," Rose said suddenly. "He'll see those photos no doubt. He'll know where Axel is, where the others are."

"I believe Axel is good enough to evade them. Plus they have Jamie and Tanzi… I think they'll be able to avoid the DSI _and_ the authorities for now though… It's going to be hard to them to make it here."

"And they got to avoid the list as well…" Rose sighed deeply. Everything was getting very complicated very fast. She wished it would just stop, just take a break, just for a moment. But the list was hammering down on her at every moment and she knew that very soon she'd get another vision and she knew whose it was going to be. It was going to be Marshall Mathers and then it was going to be her turn… with this bum leg she didn't favour her chances on dodging whatever Death had in store for her though she wasn't too keen on relying on the others. Jade had regenerative abilities, Bethany and Johann were already on the list but she didn't want to risk Siddharth, Sticks, or Murphy's lives just for her own.

 _The dreary environment passed by in a steady rhythm as the figure ran on the side of the road. Never once stopping for rest, never once pausing for breath, constantly on the move at the same rhythm. A flash of bright blue eyes signified something strange, something alien. A worn wooden pole, jutting out the ground, electric wires weaving threatening above him. The pole creaked, straining, years-old bolts finally coming loose…_

With an intake of breath, Rose nearly bit her lip as she realised that her suspicions were right. When she had the vision of Rob, there were faces she hadn't recognised – none of which were Marshall. From what Siddharth had said Marshall and Rob should have been on their own. Now with this vision of Marshall who clearly wasn't in Berlin or any kind of city or town, she realised that Marshall Mathers was _not_ with Robert Winters. What that meant, Rose didn't know.

"The next vision?" Siddharth asked from across the room.

Rose nodded. "Marshall Mather's but… Siddharth, there's a problem. He isn't _with_ the boy, Robert."

"What do you mean?" Siddharth furrowed his brow, confused. "I've set up the meeting place with the handler. Everything is a go for tomorrow morning… Assuming the Robert survived his turn on the List but he must have… I expect I would have been contacted by the handler had something gone amiss."

"He's not there," Rose reaffirmed. "They're not together. They can't be."

Siddharth wasn't sure what this meant. He looked down to his screen and was surprised when a black box suddenly popped up in the top left of his screen and words started typing out.

 _/Siddharth Bola. Do not move. Do not react. I have Johann Schneider's house under surveillance._

Siddharth narrowed his eyes and quickly typed:

 _/Who is this?_

 _/I am the handler. You may refer to me as Ryona. Do not react. Do not show your colleagues any hint that I am contacting you. The Department of Supernatural Investigations call you their best hacker. I am THE best hacker. I have been using your device to listen in on your conversations ever since you contacted me._

Siddharth felt a shiver up his spine. Someone had hacked into his laptop? That was downright near impossible. His code was encrypted if accessed from any other device other than his own laptop and that encryption had its own encryption. This Ryona… the fact that she was communicating to him meant she had gotten through those defences and that meant her claim of being the best hacker couldn't be far from the truth.

 _/I have heard the truths of your mission. You do not want to ransom Robert Winters. I would usually activate your termination in any other circumstances but from what I can gather you seem to be looking out for my agent, Marshall Mathers. I know of the list. I understand what it entails._

 _/Then you know that we simply want to help him._

 _/The one named Rose has just said that he is not with his quarry. She seems adamant in this. I want to know what she means by this._

Siddharth hesitated for a moment, then decided that at this point it was simply best to go with the truth. This Ryona had already heard all their conversations so there wasn't really much more to hide. With a glance to the windows – could there _really_ be something watching them, ready to act if he so much as hinted something was wrong to Rose and the others? – he started typing his response.

* * *

 _05:07 EST_

 _New York, New York_

 _/Rose's visions give her clues on who is next on the list. She says that Robert and Marshall cannot be together. If she says this is true, then this is true. Rose has just told me that it seems like a power line will be involved in Marshall's fate. I simply want to save a life._

Ryona narrowed her eyes at the screen directly in front of her, disregarding the many other screens plastered around the room, each showing different things from global maps to data reports to the stock market. Everything she had heard over the course of the last couple of days signified that Marshall was on this list of theirs and that meant he was in danger but she had lost signal to his watch hours before. The fact that she had lost contact with Marshall provided substantial evidence that perhaps Rose Milano was correct.

Ryona had deliberately waited until Rose had a vision concerning Marshall before getting in contact with Siddharth. It was a risky manoeuvre but the fact of the matter was that Siddharth's encryptions had proved almost too tempting of a challenge. Ryona had to give Siddharth credit where it was due, she had spent quite a long time worming her way through his encryptions without giving him a hint that she sneaking her way in. She had known Siddharth was lying to her from the very beginning when he had contacted her directly though she had played the part to see where it was going.

The only people who made contact with Ryona's business were people who she had given the information to. She had not given Siddharth Bola that information which meant he must have hacked into her own systems, a particularly impressive feat. He had said on their official communications that he wanted to ransom Robert Winters yet in the conversations she had eavesdropped on it had been made abundantly clear that both Robert Winters and Marshall were on the list.

She had thought they were still together though. After all, Marshall had told her as much since his communication near the Borek Bridge. The fact that his watch was offline wasn't anything new to her either – Marshall had gone dark before. However the moment she had heard that they weren't together she had sent one of her international drones out to the Borek Bridge – something she had restrained from doing as a drone in Polish airspace would potentially ignite hostilities for her business.

 _/I will confirm your story. If my agent is in danger then I will contact you again. I would be willing to work with you if that becomes necessary. Do not tell your colleagues about this conversation unless I tell you so. Remember that I am in control, that I am always watching._

With this, Ryona ended the communication. This Siddharth, while extremely intelligent, also seemed to lack bravely. She highly doubted he would disobey her words. She watched the dreary countryside pass on the high quality cameras attached to the bottom of the drone, leaning back in her chair. Roads and towns and rivers were all a blur under the high speed of the device until finally it came to a halt, looking down upon the Borek Bridge.

"Shit," Ryona leaned forward again, peering at the screen through her half-moon glasses. This couldn't be right… there was the sign of a definite fire fight. The body of a man clad in black, an upturned van, a crashed motorcycle… But Marshall had reported in, he had told her that everything was all right. He would have mentioned if something as bad as _this_ had gone on. She had worked with Marshall for a very long time and knew that he would have kept her in the loop. What did that mean? She pushed the drone down the road, frowning.

She had heard Marshall's voice – twice. The first he had mentioned everything was okay. The second he had confirmed the meet and that was when the connection had been lost. She focused back in on the road and saw a blur pass under the drone – something foreign to the road. She stopped the drone, moved it back, and focused in on the… person? A man clad in black was jogging at an unnaturally equal pace down the side of the road.

"Marshall…" Ryona knew it was him. How was that possible? He should have been at that warehouse, he had told her as much, yet here he was, running on the road with nobody near him. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Siddharth had said a power line could be involved and… there, just a few meters up the road. She adjusted the drone and the long wooden pole did seem to be at an awkward angle… it may have even been swaying.

She went to move the drone then paused. Ryona knew about the list and knew of its perceived rules. If she acted right now to ensure Marshall's safety then that would mean she would be put on the list herself. The threat of death didn't seem too inviting…

The drone whizzed forward over the head of the strangely focused Marshall. He didn't even look up even though normally Marshall would have noticed something flying so low over his head. Cursing the fact that this was an expensive piece of equipment, Ryona knew that if she hit the power line's pole with the drone, it would cause enough impact to knock it away from Marshall. The pole rushed up to meet her. It was the last chance she would have to swerve it out of the way, to ensure her own safety…

The feed suddenly cut off and Ryona leaned back with a sharp breath. She had done it. A tingling ran up her spine but she knew that her decision was the correct one. Her job was the manage her agents and Marshall was one of the best. Saving his life was something that _had_ to happen. Though why he seemed so focused… Ryona had a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew of a substance Marshall kept on him that would make him so focused, so robotic, but… if he had taken that… that makes thing were especially dire.

But Ryona had bigger fish to fry. Someone had used Marshall's voice – somehow had used his voice – to speak to her. An unknown group had hold of Robert Winters and she needed to find out who they were and what they wanted. Perhaps Siddharth Bola's expertise would come in handy for such a thing. He seemed absolutely willing to work her and it was in Ryona's best interests to use everything at her disposal. She considered for a long moment, and then brought up the connection to Siddharth's laptop.

 _/Marshall is safe for now. He is not with Robert Winters. I suspect you want to find where Robert Winters is and who has him. I will help you. Is this agreeable to you?_

There wasn't even a pause as the reply came over her screen:

 _/Yes. I am glad Marshall is safe for now. But if we are to work together then we need a modicum of trust. Will you allow me to tell my friends about this conversation? If we all work together then I suspect we can achieve our goals._

It was Ryona's turn to consider. The less people who knew about her presence the better… she had contacted Siddharth almost out of simple curiosity but now she needed people on the floor to get to that warehouse. Pushing the glasses up onto her nose, she typed out her response:

 _/You may tell them. Here is what I need of you and your friends._

* * *

 _11:30 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

On a small low wall in a dark corner surrounded on all sides by low buildings just at the edge of Merler Road, a young woman sat with her legs crossed, waited patiently. Her long hair waved in the breeze as did the dark black dress she wore. Her eyes were closed and if any were to come upon her it would seem as if she were in a trance, especially as she was muttering to herself.

"…Five will fall… One gets scarred… trust is lost… trust is gained…" Her voice was low music in the air. "…Revenge… Pity… Guilt… Surrender…" The woman opened her eyes though there was no colour to them, just pure white. "A coward flees, a hero stands, blood for blood, the seed is cast… so the Oracle has spoken." The woman closed her eyes again. "…Five will fall… One gets scarred… Trust is lost… Trust is gained…" She repeated the rhythm of her chant, opening her eyes again and then closing them to repeat it once more. Again and again the woman repeated her chant, waiting for the arrival of the ones soon to come.


	41. Fever Dreams

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

 **Fever Dreams**

 _07:00 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

The wait had been absolute agony for Rose over the course of the previous day. After Marshall Mathers had been successfully saved by their new ally, the mysterious Ryona who raised many questions in of herself, Rose had fully expected to receive a vision that hinted at her turn on the List. After an hour, Rose had started to panic that she had somehow gotten the clue but not realised it. After two hours Rose could tentatively hope that this time she could actually have some time between visions, like it always should have bee.

When evening came and Jamie and her group appeared on the doorstep of Johann Schneider's house, Rose allowed herself to believe that the List's speed had finally settled down. She couldn't say _why_ the List had gone by so fast yet she was at least grateful that they had time to think. Siddharth had quickly related his information about Ryona to Jamie, Tanzi and the rest but before they could get into making plans Johann had insisted that everyone get some sleep. Rose had to agree that it made sense, as all five of them looked absolutely shattered from the long journey with very little rest.

Rose had hoped, however, that Sam would come back to ensure the group had come to a whole but there was no sign of the young woman. Where she had gone and why she had left Rose didn't know; perhaps Sam had finally succumbed to the fear and had decided to go back home. But why leave in such a rush? Why not at least tell them that she was going? However Rose had no answers and descended into a fitful sleep.

At first she dreamt of her father, of simple dinners across the table with just the two of them. But soon enough those dreams twisted and turned into feverish images: of each of the survivors being killed and mutilated in horrifying ways, of Jamie and Tanzi captured and tortured by Director Gabriel Evrard, of the metal monstrosity of Axel that had been circling online all day causing a rampage around the city, of Siddharth arrested for all his hacking exploits without the protection of the DSI.

Rose dreamt of those that had died. Of her father exploding inside the bowels of the Saviour V satellite, of her Uncle suffocating so far away from planet earth. She saw Derek Sanders gasping for air that wouldn't come as water seeped into his lungs, of Adrian Jacobs engulfed in fire, unable to even understand why he was dead. She dreamt of Jenna Weissler who had died so senselessly. Their faces mixed with one another, driving a stake of guilt into Rose's heart.

She woke drenched in sweat and her leg pounding horribly. She took a couple of tepid breaths and glanced down to the pale white skin of her injured leg. She had still not gotten around to asking Johann straight out but she had been trying to move her toes all through the previous day with no luck at all, not even a twitch. If she touched it she couldn't even feel it no matter how hard she jabbed. Yet as she woke, Rose knew she needed to get in the shower to get rid of all the sweat and the dread feelings rising in her.

She gently and quietly spun on the sofa, planting her good foot on the floor and letting the other hang uselessly. The living room was filled with soft breathing as the majority of the survivors had taken up spots across the room. Sticks had taken the corner, spread-eagled with a goofy expression on his face as he slept. Jade was curled up in the armchair like a cat, looking completely at peace. Bethany slept at the foot of the armchair but was fidgeting back and forth slightly, sweat at her own forehead. It seemed as if Bethany was having her own share of nightmares.

Rose pushed herself up out of the sofa – her skin sticking on the leather – and balanced on her good leg. She used the sofa to guide herself as she slowly hopped towards the door that led into the corridor, passing the gently snoring form of Siddharth; it was actually a rarity to see him sleeping like this though now Rose though on it he hadn't gotten any sleep since they had left France. She supposed energy drinks could only get him so far. Rose quickly hopped to the doorframe and hung onto it, trying to control her breathing from the pain. She had practiced hopping around the previous day so it hurt a whole lot less than it had before.

Jamie and Axel had taken refuge in the corridor. Axel sat with his back leaned up against the front door, his breathing low and making his moustache ripple with every breath. In the entire year Rose had known Axel he had always been a teddy bear in wolf's clothing, looking ferocious but actually quite a calm and friendly guy. But seeing what he had looked like on all those pictures, metallic with no emotion in his eyes and blood dripping from his fingers… How could _that_ Axel be the same as _this_ Axel? Jamie herself had taken position by the back door but had curled up and was breathing very lightly.

With the wall as her guide, Rose passed the study door when Johann and Jäger were both sleeping and passed the kitchen where both the young Leslie Carlson and Alisha Sanders were asleep. Alisha did not look well at all underneath the bunched covers though Rose couldn't blame her – the poor girl had lost her brother, mother, and father all in the space of an hour. Her whole had been turned upside down and it would never be the same again. Once this was all over, Leslie could at least go back to Eastbourne and continue to live his life as if nothing much had happened but for Alisha… it was an unfortunately different story.

The door to the bathroom was at the end of the hall and Rose managed to make her way using the thin corridor has a guide. She pushed at the door before even realising that the soft light was on inside.

Tanzi didn't realise that Rose was standing in the open doorway at first. She was looking at herself in the mirror, her shirt bunched up to her neck with one hand and the other hand tracing an ugly white scar that trailed across her stomach and chest. Even as Rose watched, thick yellow and black bruises seemed to appear across the scars and then fade away like the waves of an ocean. It was a sight like none Rose had ever seen before. Then Tanzi looked up from her own injuries to see Rose in the mirror.

"Rose?" Tanzi quickly turned, dropping her shirt to cover the mottled bruises.

"I'm sorry," Rose said quickly, making to turn away. She was clearly not meant to have seen that. However Tanzi took two steps forward and went to place a gloved hand on Rose's shoulder but pausing at the last moment. Instead she put it against the doorframe as she looked to Rose.

"Don't tell Jamie," Tanzi asked, her eyes pleading. "It's nothing."

It certainly didn't look like nothing, Rose thought, but she wasn't going to push the matter. "I won't," Rose murmured quietly. She took a moment before continuing with, "But don't hide secrets from her, Tanzi. From any of us. Especially if affects what we're doing today." With that Rose left Tanzi alone in the bathroom, closing the door behind her. What had she just seen? Rose knew that Tanzi had taken that mysterious Nectar but it certainly didn't seem like it was healing. If anything it looked like wounds were coming back before going away again. Concerned, Rose leant on the doorframe of the washroom to catch her breath when she heard a soft voice almost imperceptible through the wood of the door.

" _…pass through the golden sunlight…"_

The voice was gentle as it sung the slow musical words. Intrigued, Rose gently leaned closed to the door to listen.

" _…The gates'll wait for all of us… mother, brother, daughter and son… aye, the gate'll wait forever more…"_

Recognising the voice, Rose opened the door – a little to eagerly, a small part of her told herself – and saw Murphy leaning by the open window of the washroom, a cigarette in his hand. His was facing away from her so Rose couldn't see his face but she could see that those sunglasses he always wore were propped up onto his black hair. Not wanting to distract him, Rose simply listened as he sang under his breath the slow words of the song he was singing. It was a song that Rose didn't recognise but appreciated all the same. It told the story of a lone survivor, who watched everyone they ever knew and loved enter the gates of heaven before them. It was a song that Rose felt like she could relate to with the deaths of William and Mike.

Finally the words drifted off into the night and Murphy grew silent – almost morose – as he leant on the window frame.

"…That was beautiful." The words were out of Rose's words before she had even realised it.

Murphy took a moment to push the sunglasses back down onto his nose before turning to face Rose. Rose saw something sparkle down his cheeks but wasn't sure if it was a trick of the night or not. "Thank you," Murphy said with a soft smile. "Between Kingsley leaving and Jade joining I sang a couple of times in some small venues to keep the money coming in. Unfortunately I was never able to, what Jade would say, _rock out_. I only know the songs my father taught me, anyway." Murphy shrugged. "I'm terrible at remembering any other lyrics than his."

An awkward silence rose up and Rose wasn't entirely certain what to say. However Murphy offered his hand to her. "You look like you've had a rough night. Come get some fresh air." Rose found that she didn't hesitate as she took Murphy's hand to help guide her to the window. It was just wide enough for Murphy and Rose to lean shoulder-to-shoulder to look out into the small alley behind Johann's house.

"May I?" Rose asked, looking at the cigarette in Murphy's hand.

"Of course," Murphy handed it over and though Rose couldn't see his eyes she couldn't help but feel like he was staring directly at face, taking in every detail. Turning away to disguise the red rising in her cheeks, Rose took in a deep drag of the cigarette and looked up to the blue sky.

"I just lost my father," Rose said as she looked up to the sky. She had looked up at the same sky only a short while ago, not knowing how much her life was going to change, just looking forward to speaking to her dad and uncle again. "He died a hero…" She wasn't certain why she was telling Murphy this but something in her gut told her that it was perfectly okay to tell Murphy this. "If it wasn't for him then we wouldn't have been given the chance to help save everyone on the list…"

"Sounds like a great man," Murphy murmured quietly.

"He was," Rose nodded, still looking to the sky. Then she looked down, biting her lip. "But…" She trailed off, deep in thought.

"But…?" Murphy prompted.

Rose took a deep breath. "I recently learned that my father may not have been… as good as I thought he was." She let the statement hang on the air. She handed the cigarette back to Murphy and it was his turn to draw in a lungful of smoke before gently breathing it out into the air.

"You cannot let the sins of the father outweigh the love he held for you. During your childhood, would you say he was a good father?"

"He tried his absolute best to be the best father a daughter could hope for. Sometimes he wasn't home… sometimes he couldn't make it. But he always tried to be there for me when he could."

"Then he was a good father who loved you very deeply," Murphy said looking up to the spot Rose had been looking at in the sky. "I think as children we often see our parents in an almost one-dimensional way. Often we don't realise that they suffer just as we do. They have doubts, they make mistakes. Yet they fight through all of that to go out of their way to love us. Do not let one or two mistakes outweigh everything he would have done for you. Even if the mistakes seem large in place of the little good things – it's the little good things that helped mould us into who we are today. And are you happy with who you are today?"

Rose thought for a long moment before nodding. "I am."

Murphy simply nodded and a silence blossomed between them but this time it wasn't awkward but mutual. Rose felt like she could tell Murphy any of her personal thoughts and it was a feeling that she wasn't used to. Finally, she spoke again, "I never thanked you for saving my life. For treating me when Siddharth got me here."

Murphy shook his head. "I didn't save your life. Johann is the one who did that. I simply improvised and managed to get by through sheer luck. I made all kinds of mistakes in what I was doing."

"But you tried," Rose said. "And Johann didn't get through that door until later. Your made sure I didn't bleed out."

"I didn't-"

"Don't be stubborn, Seamus," Rose elbowed Murphy in the ribs lightly. "Just take the compliment.

"If you say so."

"Seamus, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why do you wear those glasses all the time?"

"…They give me courage…"

"Can I look under them?"

"I'm afraid not, Rose."

"I figured as much. Had to try, right?"

"I suppose you did."

The two chuckled lightly together, watching the early morning sun, simply appreciating each other's presence in a brief moment of calm in a sea of rough waves.


	42. Future Imperfect

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

 **Future Imperfect**

 _07:48 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

The Miracle Skyhawks van was sitting snug in an alley at the end of Merler road, its engine shut and the atmosphere tense within its confines. Tanzi sat in the driver's seat, peering ahead up the road in an attempt to note any movement even though she was unlikely to see anything from where she was. Siddharth sat in the passenger seat of the van, his laptop, as always, open in front of him. The instruments had been pushed to the back allowing Alisha and Leslie space to sit side by side with Jäger between them, resting his head on Alisha's lap. Alisha absently stroked the deerhound's head deep in thought as Leslie wrote gently in the notebook.

"I don't see anything," Siddharth said, breaking the silence as he watched the screen which seemed to depict a camera moving over the warehouse at the end of Merler road.

"No guards posted outside at least," the voice of Ryona rang out from his laptop. This was something Siddharth had demanded as a show of trust as well as the fact that it would make communication easier if anything sudden happened. She was controlling one of her drones as close to the warehouse as she dared and Siddharth was watching the feed from his laptop. "I'm not sure whether its confidence or stupidity."

"I'd wager the former," Tanzi said. "We all know they're walking into a trap."

"If we're assuming that these assailants are working for Gabriel Evrard, then we can safely guess that he's going to want Rose above anyone else," Ryona replied. "From what I can discern on his data, he seems to enjoy talking and he'll want to gloat in front of everyone who's escaped him."

" _Definitely_ enjoys talking," Siddharth nodded. "If something goes wrong, he'll capture Jamie and Axel, not kill them." He frowned after saying this, as if not believing his own words.

"And no one can track this van?" Tanzi asked for what seemed to hundredth time.

"You've got two scramblers in place, Miss Sakamoto. One from my end and one from Siddharth. Between us, nobody is finding you. Even _if_ they capture Jamie and Axel and even _if_ they find Rose at Johann's friend's house, Evrard will not get the whole collection. We've got a Plan C if both A and B doesn't work."

When they had left in the morning, both Ryona and Siddharth had come to the conclusion that Johann's house was almost certainly compromised. Even with Axel's certainty that nobody had followed him, his very public appearance would have focused the DSI's attention on him and they always had ways of tracking that weren't visible. Had it been up to Rose, then the majority of the survivors would have been left with her and Murphy at the friends house. Instead, Jamie had overrode her in that numbers were better in this situation. Rose had argued that only the two under aged survivors in Leslie and Alisha would be forced to stay away from the warehouse, everyone else could make their own decisions as long as they followed Jamie's directions. So Murphy had volunteered to care for the injured Rose and everyone else had come along with Jamie.

"How far away is Marshall?" Tanzi asked, wishing she could have gone with Jamie, Axel, and Johann. But she understood that the youngsters and Siddharth needed someone skilled to look over them. With the heavy chance that combat would get underway in the warehouse, Tanzi was the one chosen to look over them as she was the less combat oriented between herself, Axel, and Jamie. Despite Rose's argument that _at least_ Leslie and Alisha were left with her and Murphy, Jamie insisted that she needed them for Plan C if all went bad but she had assured Rose that they would be safe in the van. Rose had stubbornly agreed after much resistance.

"About thirty minutes away," Ryona replied over the laptop. "The moment he reaches the Warehouse, any chance of negotiation is going to get out of the window. I hope the professor is confident in his skills."

* * *

 _07:52_

At the back of the warehouse, Jade led both Sticks and Bethany the long way round until they got get close to the metal and wooden crates that were piled haphazardly behind the warehouse, remnants of shut down business long ago. They were climbing up the pile, one by one, as quietly as they could. Jade had volunteered to get as high as she could in the warehouse to scout the area out in case people were hiding in the back. Sticks and Bethany had naturally volunteered to go with away and would brook no other argument.

"I feel like a spy," Sticks whispered as he pulled himself up a metal crate. "This is amazing."

"Try not to enjoy it too much," Bethany said as she followed Sticks up. "This is dangerous."

"But thrilling!" Sticks exclaimed with a grin.

"Guys," Jade called down quietly, her tone strict. "Keep the conversation to a minimum. We don't want anyone hearing us." Jade pulled herself up one final crate that led to the strip of high windows that encircled the warehouse. She crawled close with Bethany and Sticks close on her heels. Peering through the window they could see rows upon rows of shelving. There was an upturned shelving unit in the corner but no sign of movement. "I can't see anyone," Jade murmured.

"I expect they're close to the door, right? It would make sense." Bethany motioned in the general direction of the front door that was hidden from view by all the shelving units. She hesitated a moment and then turned to Jade. "Jade… I…" Bethany hesitated and Jade looked at her, confused.

"What's wrong, Beth?"

Bethany turned to Sticks as well. "You two, Sticks."

"Not good, Jade. She's got that serious expression on her face."

"Sticks!"

"…Sorry."

Bethany took a breath. "Just in case… just in case everything goes wrong. Just in case that we've walked into something a whole lot bigger than us… Thank you. Both of you."

"Nothing's going to happen, Beth, not if I can help it," Jade smiled warmly but Bethany shook her head.

"Jade, please… Just let me say this." The words were quiet and Sticks and Jade drew in closer to hear them. "Thank you for letting me live mine and Kingsley's dreams. For travelling all over the world and soaring as the Miracle Skyhawks. You two… Murphy… You've been the best band mates we could have ever hoped for. You are family."

Sticks and Jade remained quiet for a moment before Sticks sat back on his haunches. "Don't write the Skyhawks off quite yet, Bethany. We'll go even further, get even better until the whole world knows our face."

"Sticks is right," Jade nodded. "We'll get Robert Winters and deal with whatever is going to happen here. Then we'll find a way to stop the List to get you off of it, Bethany. Then, I got an idea…" Jade smiled again, almost wickedly. "I was gonna keep this a surprise but… after this has all blown over, I've got a couple of new songs I want to share. Songs that speak about the List, about Death, about it all…" Jade leaned forward. "I want to tell the world, guys! I want to tell the world about the secrets the DSI seems too keen to keep hidden. I've already spoken secretly with Siddharth last night and he's offered to give me the information that the public know. The Miracle Skyhawks will be the catalyst that changes the world!" Jade grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You're right, Sticks. They'll know our faces. They'll know exactly who we are. We'll be the harbingers of a new age that changes exactly how us mere mortals see the world."

* * *

 _07:54_

Johann, Jamie, and Axel walked up the road in direct view of the warehouse. Johann walked in the middle, with Jamie at his right and Axel to his left. He walked with a confident and calm manner though both Axel and Jamie were tense.

"I swear to God, if they just shoot us where we stand…" Jamie muttered.

"Be at east, Miss Root," Johann said with a twinkle in his eye. "Your Gabriel Evrard at least enjoys the allure of being an honest man. He will not fire upon you before he has heard our words."

"If the _hammel_ is even here," Axel growled. "We should be taking this place with an iron fist. Take them from behind and deal with them where they stand."

"Such brute tactics is unbecoming of you, dear Axel." Johann continued as the walked. "Negotiation is the art to collaboration. If you attack before you talk then any chance you may have to getting into the Department's good graces is lost forever more and all of you will be hunted for all your lives. Yet if we can talk to them, if we can _explain_ to them why you left your facility in France to track all over Europe to find us, if we can appeal to his heart, then we can proceed without further bloodshed and focus on finding and dealing with the solution to this List."

"He highly doubt he has a heart," Jamie said with a shake of her head.

"All men have hearts. You just have to find it," Johann said.

"You're too much an optimist," Jamie replied.

"I would not frown at optimism too much, Miss Root. Optimism is hope for the future. In believing that everything will work out as it should," Johann looked to her. "Is that so wrong?"

"You have to be prepared for all eventualities, Professor."

"Indeed, my dear. I agree. That is why you two are with me, after all, in case I cannot turn his heart in time."

* * *

 _07:59_

"They're reaching the doors right now," Siddharth said to Tanzi as he watched the drone watch over the trio's approach to the warehouse. "We won't be able to see what goes in inside."

"Have faith in Johann Schneider," the voice of Ryona suggested. "The professor is famed for keeping lectures that last up to three hours engaging and interesting. If he can keep the attention of students for _that_ long then I suspect a negotiation like this is right in his alley. Beside, he has spent a significant time at one of the most secretive monasteries in the Monastery of Ki. It may not seem it, but the man is a master of finding the hearts of those that hide it."

"…Doesn't look like much of a monk…" Tanzi muttered and leaned back in her chair. Now was the hard part. They wouldn't know exactly what went on in that warehouse until either the success of the failure of the professor. A sudden tapping on the window made her heart nearly jump out of her skin and Tanzi turned to find a woman standing outside her window. How she had managed to get so close without Tanzi realising was extremely worrying.

The woman was strangely beautiful in an enigmatic kind of way. Her hair was long and black, flowing in rivets down her shoulders and the straps of her black dress. She raised her hands and stepped back but motioned with her chin for Tanzi to lower the window.

"What… Who is she?" Siddharth asked, eyes wide. "Tanzi… don't…"

However, Tanzi had already opened her door instead of lowering the window. She stepped outside the van, strangely drawn to this woman. She didn't sense danger from her.

"Tanzi Sakamoto…" the woman smiled. "I have always wanted to meet you. In another time we would have met in Eastbourne. Indeed, Miss Sakamoto, in another time it would have been you to have come to the Belle Tout Lighthouse."

Tanzi furrowed her eyebrows. "Who are you?"

"My name is Willow Orwell. I have met your good friend, Ruby Ascot. Your mother worries about you, Tanzi. Every day she forgets that you ran away and expects you to come at four o'clock, like you always did. Every day she is disappointed." Willow shook her head. "Your mother is not important. Fate does not lie with your mother. You will see her again and explain to her your sorrows and your misgiving. No, no, Tanzi Sakamoto, the fate of the world hinges on what happens at the warehouse. As it is now, the professor will fail and all will die. I am here to stop this. I am here to ensure the future that my father worked towards comes to pass. I am here to give you your fate, to bring you to Death, to defeat Death, to defeat Life."

The words flowed past Tanzi in an almost musical tone. Her mother? Ruby? The lighthouse? Then Willow suddenly reached up, her bare fingers reaching for Tanzi's cheek.

"No!" Tanzi exclaimed, drawing away. Skin on skin contact would me she would see into Willow Orwell's mind and that was something Tanzi did not like doing without permission. But Willow's fingers touched her cheek and almost immediately Tanzi felt something like electricity running through her spin and thousands upon thousands of images flashed through her mind. Her arms hung loose as Willow got closer, putting her whole hand on Tanzi's cheeks. The millions of images started to narrow down in only a few images as if Willow was somehow controlling what Tanzi was seeing.

* * *

 _The fake Marshall Mathers stood next to Robert Winters, negotiating with Axel Daunhauer, Jamie Root, and Johann Schneider. A man walked out of the shadows, Gabriel Evrard, clapping slowly._

* * *

 _At the back of the warehouse, a woman stepped out of the wall like a ghost to confront Jade Skysong, Bethany Cross, and Freddie Masters. Jade struck out but the woman grabbed her arm and threw her off the side. Then a pistol is drawn, two shots ring out, and Bethany and Freddie drop to the floor._

* * *

 _Within the warehouse, a woman appeared as if from out of nowhere next to Axel. Before he can do anything, a shotgun fires and a spray of mist flew into Johann's shocked face. Then the fake Marshall shot, hitting Jamie twice in the chest. She falls. Johann retained his courage to try and talk to Gabriel but the man raised his pistol and fires – the professor falls._

 _The door tears open and the real Marshall Mathers sprinted in, his eyes blue, his aura disturbed. But pistol shots and a shotgun blast knock him down before he can even start._

* * *

 _At the house of Sofie Weber, Rose Milano is on the floor, lying next to the corpse of Seamus Finnegan. She nursed a gunshot in her leg and faced Philhipé Estermont. The man clutches the struggling form of Sam Gretman. He raises his pistol with a despicable grin and fires it, casting a spray of mist against the wall. Sam falls, joining the two other bodies – one of the elderly Sofie Weber, the other of the innocent Werner Remmy._

 _Rose screamed something, her words echoed and finite. Philhipé raised his pistol and fired three shots – hitting Rose in the chest, the neck, and the forehead._

* * *

Tanzi's eyes widened and she looked into Willow's eyes. "Stop… stop…" But Willow refused to let go.

"You must see what _could_ happen in order to prevent it!" Willow said firmly. Tanzi slipped off her glove and with only the thought on making Willow unconscious, reached up and grabbed the side of Willow's head. Willow's eyes widened in surprise. "No!" But it was too late and a surge of unrelated images ran through Tanzi's mind.

* * *

 _Ruby Ascot sat at the hospital bed of Isabella Pine, who was almost catatonic. Ruby held her hand tightly, sorrow in her eyes. The door suddenly breaks open and a man stands there – but a man whose life has left him. A man no more._

* * *

 _Eugene Hawk stood at the edge of a half constructed building, blood on the side of his face and his eyes filled with anger. His voice echoed out, surprisingly shrill and clear, "I loved her with all my heart! And she loved me! You think I won't come back? I will! You can kill me, you can try! I'LL COME BACK!"_

* * *

 _Gabriel Evrard stood at a pedestal, facing the mass of tightly woven people in front of him. "We will stay here! We will not fight the demons! My focus is on the survival of humanity, not the destru—" A gunshot rings out and Gabriel Evrard fell to the floor, his mouth open with a small 'o'._

* * *

" _My God, man! Are you talking to yourself!?" Conner Shepherd was bound to a device with a mass of steel knives pointing at his ribs, back to back with Gerald Ryoushi. "Now is not the time! I mean, Jesus Christ, talk to your imaginary friend AFTER we're out of this fuckin' trap, a'ight?!"_

* * *

" _Together we stand! Or together we fall!" Lisa Valentine stood at a pedestal and pointed to a huge door set in the stone. "Humanity will not end here! We fight! We help those heroes who are fighting for us!"_

* * *

 _Harold Kelly spat a glob of blood to the floor and raised his fists to the hulking demon in front of him. "That all you got? I've met little girls who've hit harder than you!"_

* * *

 _Tanzi Sakimoto withdrew her hands from the sides of Death's head. She fell to both knees, pale. She looked up at Death who looked down at her. "That was foolish," Death spoke as Tanzi found her breath leaving her. "What did you hope to achieve?" Tanzi fell to the side, looking at the group in front of her, wishing she could speak some last words, to explain what she had seen… but her breath left her and Tanzi Sakimoto breathed her last._

* * *

Willlow wrenched away from Tanzi and backed up against the wall, breathing hard. She looking to Tanzi and muttered, "Out of all the possibilities you were not supposed to touch me, no, no, I was to touch you, not you to me… you shouldn't have seen that, you shouldn't have seen that at all."

Tanzi wavered on her feet for a moment. The images had been so fast that she had barely understood them. Yet she recognised every person involved – people she had met, people she hadn't. She didn't understand any of those images since she touched Willow but… but she understood the first set of images. The ones that depicted the survivors falling to Evrard's cunning plan.

"…Save your friends…" Willow breathed but her eyes were worried. "Save the world, Tanzi Sakimoto."

Tanzi knew why Willow was worried. She had not meant to see those second set of images. Somehow, somewhere, Willow had shown her the future. And that future… that future ended in her death. Willow was worried that Tanzi would act differently now that she had seen her own death. Tanzi took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and found Ruby Ascot's face swimming up at her, smiling that lovely smile. If Willow thought that, then Willow didn't know how Tanzi worked.

Tanzi opened her eyes and looked to Willow Orwell. "Thank you."

Willow breathed a sigh of relief. "You have twenty minutes. Make them count."

 _ **A/N:- I always did like hinting at the future. Scenes to come that change the nature of human history. Only some of many to come.**_

 _ **My update schedule is changing todays, I should mention. It will now be every TUESDAY night and SATURDAY night for chapters due to a change in work shifts and closing times. Thanks for readin', and see you Saturday as we close in on the finale of Final Destination:- Last Laugh.**_


	43. Don't Fret

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

 **Don't Fret**

 _08:04 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Tanzi threw open the side of the van to confront the bewildered Siddharth. "What's going on?" Siddharth asked. "Who is that woman? Did—"

"We don't have time," Tanzi said firmly, raising her bare hand. "Siddharth… I need to borrow your smarts. Evrard has set a trap and if we don't do something everyone will die."

Siddharth looked at the bare palm in understanding. "You want to…" He took just a moment before nodding. "Of course, of course. Go ahead."

"Thank you," Tanzi reached forward and touched the side of Siddharth's voice. She shivered for a moment before drawing back and pulling the glove back onto her hand. Siddharth shook his head slightly, blinking.

"Wow, that felt… that felt particularly strange." Siddharth looked at Tanzi. "So…"

"My God, you _think_ too much…" Tanzi muttered as she closed her eyes. After a moment she nodded. "Okay, I got it. Siddharth, you need to drive to Sofie Weber's. Philhipé Estermont is the least threatening of the problems."

"The guard at the Facility?"

"I'll explain afterwards," Tanzi said as she turned in her seat to look at Leslie and Alisha, who both were watching with bemused interested. Even Jäger was sitting to attention, his sleepiness all but gone. "Alisha, you'll go with me around the back of the warehouse. We're going to warn the Skyhawks about the woman who can pass through walls. Leslie… I need you to take Jäger and head through the front of the warehouse. It's dangerous but if you can cause a distraction you'll be about to give Axel enough time to save his own life. I don't believe you'll draw fire but keep your head down, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Tanzi looked back to Siddharth. "Good luck," she grinned a very Siddharth-like smile. "And don't be scared. Just because you can't fight like Jaime or Axel doesn't mean you can't save Rose's life."

With that, Tanzi climbed out of the van's passenger seat and moved to the back of the van, opening it wide. "Come on, you two, we got to move." As she held the door open, Tanzi turned to look at Willow who was still standing by the wall. The girl had a look of utter amazement in her eyes and was touching the spot Tanzi had touched her. "What will you do?" Tanzi asked her.

"I must wait…" Willow said after a moment's thought. "Until the conclusion has come. Then I will approach you once more, Tanzi Sakamoto. Good luck."

* * *

After a small amount of back and forth, Johann managed to persuade both Axel and Jamie that him going first into the warehouse would indicate that they weren't here to fight but rather to talk. A psychological effect like that could mean more potential for ending things in a civil manner. Both Axel and Jamie seemed pessimistic to the idea that Johan could simply talk his way through the whole situation but they were at least willing to try. The two of them had already seen far too much blood shed – during and before – the list itself.

Johann stepped through the door to find himself surrounded on all sides by tall shelving unit. He noted one of the shelving units tipped over in the corner before focusing in on the figure standing down the end of one of the large shelving alleys. He spread his hands slightly to indicate that he wasn't here to fight and walked forward slowly, Jamie and Axel flanking him.

"Good morning," Johann called out as he walked, peering at the two figures. One was a young man – barely a boy - looking weak and pale that had to be Robert Winters. The other was somewhat of a pleasant surprise. The thick jaw, the jet black hair, the rough and tough expression all matched that of the image Siddharth had shown them of Marshall Mathers. Johann knew that this man was _not_ Marshall Mathers as Marshall was currently homing in on their location. He tried not to think too hard on the _hows_ and focuses more in on the _whys_. The fact that the enemy was standing as Marshall supported the fact that they didn't know that they knew that this was a trap. Johann wasn't certain yet whether this made negotiating easier or harder.

"Don't take another step," The pseudo-Marshall called out, reaching into his jacket to swiftly pull out a pistol. Johann eyed the firearm with distaste but did come to a stop. He moved the pistol to point at the neck of the boy and Robert stiffened and closed his eyes.

"Now, now, there's no need for that," Johann said with a soft smile. It was the same kind of smile he used when difficult students were on the very cusp of becoming extremely angry. Dealing with a man such a this would be a cake-walk to students who feel they've lost everything. "Marshall, is it? I want to be honest with you, Marshall. How about you move the pistol away from the boy and point it at me instead? I just want to talk and if you hear something you don't like then you can fire as you please."

The man posing as Marshall narrowed his eyes for a moment but slowly moved the pistol from Robert's neck to point it as Johann. Johann retained his loose composure and kept his smile up. "Thank you. Now, Marshall… I understand you think you're here for a mission. We'll give you money and you'll give us Robert but I'm afraid that isn't the entire truth. You see, Marshall, we had to get you and Robert to the same place and this was the best way." Johann focused in on the fake Marshall's eyes. "The fact of the matter is, Marshall, that you and Robert and both on something that we call the List. You may not be—" Just as Johann was getting his flow the door behind him suddenly burst open.

"Axel!" A boy's scream rang out. Johann turned to the right as two bangs resounded out – one much louder than the other. Johann felt the pistol bullet fly past inches from his cheek and catch Leslie at the left eye as he burst through. Leslie let out a scream and fell in a flash of crimson. The second blast came from somewhere to the left of Axel but the shout seemed to have set off something in Axel. Johann watched, amazed, as Axel's face seemed to turn to perfect metal just before a burst of shotgun fire clashed over the side of face in a rainbow of sparks.

Axel reached up and his metallic fist grabbed some hidden figure. He let out a groan and made a throwing motion. There was the sound of skidding before a female popped into Johann's view as if from out of nowhere. He blinked in disbelief as the woman slowly picked herself up off the floor, swinging her shotgun to point it at Axel but Jamie stood forward with her own pistol, pointing it with an expert grip at the woman with the shotgun. Marshall's pistol was pointed to Johann but Jamie immediately called out, "Stand down! If you fire, I will kill your partner!"

Johann looked towards the fallen Leslie and saw a familiar four-legged figure bound through the doorway just as the man who looked as Marshall spoke, "You misjudge our relationship." Johann whipped his head back around to the fake Marshall as he fired the pistol. There was a flash from the barrel and then something heavy knocked hard into Johann and a yelp echoed out over the room. Johann hit the floor painfully and watched Jamie fire off two shots but the woman with the shotgun had already disappeared with the fake-Marshall diving into the shelves.

Johann's attention turned to Jäger, his ever faithful Scottish Deerhound was way laying on the floor with a bullet hole at his ribs. Johan felt something twang in front of him and moved forward to his pet as Jamie kept her pistol raised and Axel made his way to the fallen Leslie. "Jäger?" Johann muttered, putting a hand next to the bullet wound. It was far to close to the heart, he could already down. Jäger let out a pitiful whine and laid his head on Johann's open palm. The aged dog gave a soft yelp as if telling Johann that it was okay. "Jäger… Mein lieber Jäger…" Johann muttered as he watched the light fade from his faithful friend's eyes.

"Professor?" Jamie called without looking away from the shelving units. "You need to leave this to me and Axel. The time for talk is over."

Johann swallowed and took a breath before asking, "The boy? Leslie?"

"He's breathing but… The _junge_ doesn't look good." Axel growled. Johann nodded and gently pulled his hand from under Jäger's head. He moved over to Leslie and saw that Axel was right. The boy had taken the bullet at a glancing blow but it had torn through his left eye and carved a rivet through the left side of his face to the ear. Blood was bubbling up and had flooded his eye socket. He reached under Leslie and lifted the boy up with surprising strength in his arms. Johann nodded wordlessly at the metallic Axel and for a breath moment his mind turned to another boy who was able to change his form. "Do you know… Tsomo?" Johann ventured to ask.

Axel looked at Johann with a furrowed brow. "I don't understand, Professor."

Johann nodded. "Na sicher, na sicher," with that mutter, he carried Leslie out of the warehouse doors leaving the metallic Axel and Jamie staring through the shelving units.

* * *

Alisha and Tanzi moved together around the side of the warehouse, the nerves clearly showing on Alisha's face. Though to be honest, she was more than glad to be doing _something_ that would take her mind – even temporarily – off of everything that had happened.

"I'm sorry that we had to bring you into this," Tanzi said as they trailed around.

Alisha forced a smile. "It's fine."

Tanzi suddenly paused and looked to the right at one of the windows on the warehouse wall. "Alisha, go on ahead. Make sure you warn them."

"But—"

"Go on. Time's short enough as it is."

Alisha took a moment before nodding and continuing around the back of the warehouse, leaving Tanzi waiting by the window. She wasn't certain but Tanzi was doing but she knew that she had a plan. Something had happened with Tanzi and the woman had approached the van and now it seemed everything was happening far too fast. Alisha made it around the back of the warehouse just as the sound of gunfire resounded out. Alisha winced and immediately called up the words Tanzi had told her to shout, "Hold Jade back!" She called out.

On top of the crates at the back of the warehouse, the three members of the Skyhawks turned down to see Alisha down below.

"Did she just say to hold you back?" Sticks asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…Sounded like it…" Jade muttered and then caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to watch a woman with mismatched eyes somehow walk straight through the wall as if it were simply water. "What the hell?" Jade focused in on the pistol in the woman's hands and immediately stepped forward, throwing a punch towards the woman. All she saw was a threat that needed to be dealt with. Even as her punch went through the air Jade realised just how much she had misjudged this new arrival.

The woman grabbed Jade's arm and made to throw her to the side but Jade felt two pairs of hands grab her belt and pull her backwards. Jade stumbled back but Sticks and Bethany steadied her. Jade took a breath and grinned, "Right!" She exclaimed before sprinting forward again.

* * *

Tanzi stood at the window with her arms crossed, watching the window rattle and then a pair of thin legs appear. She watched as the suited man dropped to the dirt and dust off his jacket. Director Gabriel Evrard turned and his gaze faltered upon coming face-to-face with Tanzi. "Ms. Sakamato!" Evrard took a step back with a crooked smile. "Now, now… Don't do anything you'll regret…"

Tanzi looked up and down Gabriel Evrard and knew that she could simply put him unconscious as she had done before. But doing that might change what she had seen and the fact of the matter was that Tanzi had to make sure it went down as Willow had specifically shown her. Tanzi shook her head for a moment and stepped to the side, allowing Evrard free reign to run forward. Evrard paused and looked at her suspiciously. "…What foolish trap is this?"

"Not a trap, _director_." Tanzi said. "Go on. Run away. You're plan has failed. Jamie and Axel will deal with your partners in crime."

"The boy's cry may have been unexpected yet…" Evrard rubbed his chin. "You're just going to let me go? Just like that? I doubt Ms. Root and Mr. Daunhauer will agree to that."

"Then you better go before I have a change of heart," Tanzi raised her hand and slowly pulled her glove off. She took satisfaction in the shiver than ran down Evrard's spine, evidently reliving the uncomfortable feeling of having his essence touched by her before.

"You may have won this battle, but you have not won the war…" Evrard said slowly as he walked backwards away from Tanzi. "Aye, maybe my men here won't succeed but Rose Milano will die!" And with that the Director turned and sprinted as fast as his spindly legs could take him. Tanzi watched and regretted not at least punching the smug look off of his face. In the end, though, Tanzi had seen his fate. She had watched the blood burst from the side of his head and watched him fall at that pedestal. Gabriel Evrard would die… just not today.

* * *

"This is such a terrible, terrible idea…" Siddharth muttered to himself as he nearly crashed into a lamppost and managed to break just in time, jolting himself forward. "I didn't even tell her I couldn't drive…"

"You're managing okay, Siddharth Bola." The voice of Ryona came from his laptop on the passenger seat.

"If by 'managing okay' you mean giving myself a heart attack every few seconds…"

"Just take a left and you'll be there."

"I know where I'm going!" Siddharth turned the wheel sharply and felt the van lurch as he turned far too fast. He skidded around the corner but nevertheless found himself going down the familiar road they had used when they dropped Rose and Murphy off. Sofie Weber's house was the one at the end of the road… the one where the stolen Tepee was stopped outside. The one that they had thought Sam had taken. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" Ryona's voice asked.

"The Tepee is there… the car we drove here in. It—"

"Was stolen by that Sam character. Yes, I was listening in, remember? Maybe your friend had a change of heart?"

Siddharth agreed with Ryona for a moment as he drove forward before seeing a familiar man climb out of the driver's seat, beckoning what looked to be a firearm. IT was Philhipé Estermont from the Facility. So this was what Tanzi Sakamoto had been talking about though how had she known? Nevertheless Siddharth slowed as Philhipé gestured the man Siddharth had taken at gunpoint to drive them to Johann's in the first place. A pang of guilt ran over Siddharth for bringing the man into this. Philhipé gestured again and Sam climbed out of the car. He motioned with the pistol to the front door.

Siddharth saw both Sam and the man move towards the door and then looked to Philhipé and realised what he could do even without being able to fight with hands or firearm. "Alright… this is gonna hurt you more than it hurts me…" Siddharth muttered and pressed down on the acceleration pedal.

"What are you doing, Siddharth?" Ryona asked.

"Something stupid."

"Stupid does not suit you."

Siddharth didn't reply as he braced himself. Philhipé got closer and closer until Siddharth could make out a shocked expression in Philhipé's face. Then – CRASH! The van's bonnet hit Philhipé with so much force that it pinned him against the side of the building and Siddharth's head snapped forward to hit hard against the edge of the steering wheel. He drew back up, clutching his bleeding nose. "No airbag?! Cheapskates…" Siddharth moaned but looked through his hazy vision at Philhipé Estermont, who was face down on the van's bonnet. "Oh yeah… Don't count Siddharth Bhargava Seshadri Bola out yet!"

Siddharth looked to the right and smiled at both the man and Sam. But something was wrong… Sam was beckoning to the front of the van. Siddharth's smile froze on his face and he turned back to the bonnet of the van to see Philhipé pointing his pistol at the windscreen.

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

The first shot whizzed past Siddharth and hit something to his right with a thunk. When the second bullet fired Siddharth felt a prick in his neck. The third bullet took half the head-rest inches from Siddharth's ear. Then Sam was there and with a vicious shout slammed a brick that had fallen from the wall Siddharth had crashed into over the top of Philhipé's head. She struck twice more until Philhipé slumped down, bleeding from the head. Sam turned to Siddharth and called something but Siddharth found that his hearing was failing him.

He felt a pulse in his neck and reached up. The moment his fingers touched blood he felt pain lance through his body. Siddharth pulled his hand away to find it was covered in crimson. He looked at the rear-view mirror and saw that the left side of his neck was completely covered in blood from the gunshot that had torn through the side of it. Siddharth opened his mouth for a moment before looking at the front door that had just opened at Sofie Weber's house.

Murphy stumbled out, supporting Rose in one hand and holding a pistol given by Axel in the other as if it were something cursed. Clearly the man was more suited to guitars than firearms. They stepped out of the door and looked at the scene around them. Rose's eyes connected to Siddharth and he felt like he heard his name being called. Siddharth fumbled for the handle of the door and managed to open it. He practically fell out of the driver's seat of the van, falling heavily to the floor. Using one hand to cover his neck he scooted up against the side of the van and his hearing became clear again.

"…Harth! What happened?! You… You're bleeding… Siddharth!" Rose pulled out of Murphy grasp and fell to her knees, her useless leg bending behind her. She must have been in pain from hitting the ground with her knees so hard but Rose didn't show it. Instead she reached forward and put both hands over Siddharth's own hand that was covering his wound. "No…" Rose moaned, tears already in her eyes. Siddharth felt a strange feeling… a feeling of gratitude… that someone like Rose would cry over someone like him. He had to speak the words though, he had to let her know…

"…Rose…" Siddharth managed to utter and reached up with his free hand to put it over Rose's hand. He couldn't say anything else until he told her. "…The… The Chalice… I found it…" Siddharth smiled a bloody grin and felt air-headed. _So this is what it feels like…_ "…Not Sharqiyya… Not… in the desert…" Rose drew her tearful face closer so she could hear Siddharth's weak words. He hadn't even realised he spoke so quietly. He wanted to just close his eyes but he forced himself to stare at Rose. "…The Tor… the Holy Grail… All connected… I was… stupid… not to link them…"

"You're never stupid, Siddharth, never…" Rose grit her teeth and looked at Murphy. "Call an ambulance! Call—"

"Shush…" Siddharth muttered. "…Nah… Don't need… that… Rose…" Siddharth took a deep breath to ready himself. He wasn't certain that he'd be able to say any more after this. "…Thank you for-for being there for me… People looked at me and saw… saw what they wanted to see but you… you saw… you saw _me_ for me…" He took his bloodied hand off of her own and reached up, gently touching her cheek with one finger. "…Don't fret… don't fret… my laptop… find what… need…" Siddharth finally closed his eyes with a small sigh, his finger drawing a trail of blood on her cheek as it dropped.

"Siddharth?" Rose moaned. She took her hands away from his neck and gently shook him. "Siddharth…? Siddharth!" Rose felt Murphy's hand on her shoulder but instead turned to Sam who was approached. She was holding his laptop. But… but… "No…" Rose felt the tears come even stronger. It just couldn't be like this. It just wasn't fair.

Sam held the laptop gingerly but a bullet had torn through the keyboard, revealing the innards of the laptop. Rose keeled over and Murphy could do nothing but clutch Rose to him as she cried, mourning the loss of her good friend, just one more person in her life who had left her all alone.

 **A/N:- Alas, poor Siddharth. One of my favourite new characters created... Yet time ticks on and the finale comes closer... See you next time!**


	44. Weaknesses

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

 **Weaknesses**

 _08:14_

 _Berlin, Germany_

"I got her!" Sticks exclaimed, reaching behind Holly with both arms, wrapping them around her chest. Holly stepped forward through his arms like a ghost and Sticks was clutching at empty air. "Scratch that, I haven't-" Sticks' exclamation was cut off by a quick rabbit punch to the nose, sending the drummer stumbling back in surprise. Holly turned around as Jade threw an errant punch her direction. Holly frowned and stepped to the side – poor footing, posture – Jade was certainly not a trained fighter by any stretch of the imagination.

Holly reached forward and grabbed Jade's arm with the intention of throwing her off the crates like she had planned previously but she heard steps behind her and then another errant punch passed through her stomach to hit Jade in the stomach inside. Jade gasped in pain as Holly spun around to meet Bethany Cross, who to her credit was standing firm, the only sign that she was scared the small beading of sweat on her forehead.

"What are you?" Bethany asked but Holly didn't deign to answer. She wanted to get this over with quickly. Riddle was insulting her by making her deal with these three band-members instead of being in the warehouse proper at Riddle and Rivera's side. Instead Holly swept her leg to trip Bethany with expertise. Bethany fell hard onto the metal and Holly spun back around to look at Jade who was sending another very sloppy punch her way. Holly stepped forward to get close to Jade and send a sharp jab into Jade's stomach. Her knuckles connected with a solid feeling but then Holly felt herself suddenly lifted off her feet. Her eyes widened in surprise before Jade threw her to the side and into open air.

Holly fell for a second and then hit another metal container further down with a hard _thunk_. She rolled, slipped off that container and fall back-first against the next on, her head pinging painfully off the metal. She stared up at the top container where Jade stood peering down with Bethany and Sticks flanking her.

"It's a nice trick," Jade called out and tapped her nose. "But I figured it out!"

Holly ground her teeth together in irritation and dropped off the last metal container to the ground knowing that she wouldn't be able to climb up to meet them since they would just stomp at her figures. Jade Skysong seemed a bit more intelligent that Holly had given her credit for.

On top of the container, Sticks rubbed his nose painfully as he asked, "Can't we just wait up here?"

"And leave her to interrupt the others?" Jade shook her head and pointed to the discarded pistol that she had managed to make Holly drop earlier. "We've disarmed her. We just gotta keep up the pressure. I mean sure, we're not fighters, but we can at least distract her."

"Not fighters?" Sticks scoffed and peered over the side of the container. "I've been in more bar fights than I can count. Gimme some weapons to improvise with and then we'll see what's what!" With that, Sticks slipped off the side of the container to make his way back down.

Jade looked at Bethany. "You might want to stay up here. Maybe take the pistol and cover me?"

"What, and accidentally shoot you?" Bethany crossed her arms. "Not happening, Jade."

"I mean… I would just heal from it," Jade shrugged.

"That's not the point," Bethany replied with a scowl. "We just got to distract her until Axel, Jamie, or Tanzi can come and deal with her proper. So let's go."

Jade looked down to the waiting Holly who was standing in a fighting posture looking up at them with patience befitting a fighter. Jade looked at her hand for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, I got a plan. Listen close and I think we can get her off her feet."

* * *

"Just give us the boy!" Jamie raised her voice over the lines of shelves, looking for any sign of the fake Marshall Mathers, the shotgun wielder, or Robert. "It's over! Whatever your plan was, whatever your intention is, it will not happen. Surrender and you will live." She walked slowly forward, her pistol in both hands and her eye trained on every single movement. Axel walked slowly behind her, his metal creaking as if he were an age-old machine.

"The one with the shotgun… perhaps the fake as well… they have abilities…" Axel muttered into Jamie's ear, his voice grating like cogs. "Perhaps, Jamie, you should wait outside? You may be outmatched."

"Do not insult me, Axel," Jamie said in a whisper as she swung her pistol left and right in case of an ambush. "In all my time working for the DSI all over the world, I have come to find that those with abilities often have the worse weaknesses. We simply find theirs."

"Ja. We just have to find them first," Axel muttered. "One who can turn invisible and another who can change form, perhaps even to something other than human." He stopped and nudged one of the boxes at the bottom of the shelving unit with his boot. "What's to say he can't become this box? Or a lamp? Not knowing a fähigkeit's true extents causes more trouble than necessary."

"Shh," Jamie suddenly came to a stop, narrowing her eyes. Axel immediately quietened and turned his silver head to where Jamie was pointing her pistol. He listened hard and could hear footsteps. Then a figure rounded the corner – a feminine figure with dark hair and a number of piercings. Jamie stiffened and her finger hovered over the trigger of the pistol as the figure approached with her hands up.

"Jamie… It's been a while…" Marie Milano spoke with a smile that Jamie remembered from so long ago. For a moment years of growing up with her sister flashed through her mind. Giggling together as schoolgirls, talking about boys as they grew up, Marie joining the DSI to follow in Jamie's footsteps, Marie getting the piercings because Jamie was too 'straight-laced.' Seeing her in front of her like this… even though a small part of her was telling her that _this is a fake, Jamie, don't think, just shoot!_

"You-You think something like that will work?" Jamie struck the hesitancy from her voice and widened her stance. "Get on your belly with your hands above your head. Now!"

Marie laughed. "I don't think so."

"I will shoot you."

"You won't."

"Don't tempt me"

" _You won't_." Marie repeated in a voice that was so like what Jamie remember that it shook her to her core. "What was it you just said? Every ability user has their weakness? That stands true to you simple humans as well. Jamie Root… One of the toughest the DSI ever had, the same as all her friends. The Milano brothers, you and your sister, Lisa Valentine… But you all shared the same weakness. _Family_." Marie took a step forward.

"Stop!" Jamie shouted but hated the fact that she couldn't pull the trigger. Some psychological block was stopping her from doing what needed to be done. It wasn't just a simple illusion of her sister… it _was_ her sister. Her tone of voice, her mannerisms, the inflections in her speech… Everything was so much of how she used to be.

"Valentine has her two sons and no matter how much she tries to alienate the firstborn she loves them with all her heart. If we're ever tasked to take care of her then all I need do is do what I do now. Lisa Valentine could not shoot her son, just as you cannot shoot your sister. Even though there is a part of you screaming to shoot me, that it's false, you cannot."

Jamie grimaced. The imposter was right. She remembered the blank expression on her sister's face after the tumble down the stairs. She couldn't see that again… she couldn't relive what happened.

"Genug geredet!" Axel roared with such volume that it completely took Jamie off-guard. Axel stepped forward and lowered his head. "Enough with the mind-games!" He took off at a sprint, his boots stomping across the floor.

"Axel!" Jamie shouted but it was too late. Axel swung his fist just as the imposter's form shifted – shifted smaller, into that of a small girl who shared Axel's blonde hair-colour in her braided pigtails. Axel's fist skidded to a halt as he stared down at the small girl.

"Daddy?" The girl cocked her head, her pigtails swinging.

"Hanna?" Axel muttered, his eyes wide. Then a fully grown woman appeared in front of him with no warning, the familiar shotgun pointed directly at his left eye. "Gott—"

BANG!

The left side of Axel's metallic face was blasted with Rivera's shotgun fire, making him roar in pain. He bent backwards and swatted wildly at Rivera but the woman wielding the shotgun ducked it and started running towards Jamie, drawing her glimmering machete with her free hand.

Jamie aimed and fired a shot directly at the woman's chest but with impossible quickness Rivera moved her machete through the air, deflecting the bullet with a _ping_ into one of the many crates lining the shelves. Then the woman was on Jamie, swinging her machete at the pistol, slicing the metal clean in two. Jamie instantly let go of the weapon and used her forearm to push the oncoming shotgun out of the way, letting the shotgun fire harmlessly into another box.

Rivera swung the machete and Jamie knew that it would be too dangerous to even try and catch the blade so instead hopped backwards, her hands raised. "Who trained you?" Jamie asked from behind her raised fists. "Reflexes like that… That takes years to learn."

Rivera simply smiled and disappeared using what Jamie could only presume to be her invisibility. Jamie immediately backed away to the shelves so the only way Rivera could get to her would be from the front. Not be able to see her was presenting a big problem. All it would take was to shoot or slice Jamie from her blind spot and that was that. Then from the corner of her eye Jamie saw a glint and her instincts pushed her down as the machete swung through the air, slashing into the strut of the shelves with the sharpness of a katana. But that action was all it took for Jamie to realise what Rivera's weakness was.

 _She cannot attack and retain her invisibility at the same time,_ Jamie thought as Rivera disappeared again. _A lack of concentration for both actions, I expect. Tanzi was always similar… if I distracted her while she was touching someone then she wouldn't absorb the abilities… There you go, Axel, every ability user has a weakness._ Another glint of light and Jamie span to the right as the machete sliced into a box. Then she heard the faint sound of a trigger and ducked just in time to avoid the shotgun fire. Rivera appeared for a moment for the two actions then disappeared. Jamie may have found Rivera's weakness but the fact of the matter was that Rivera was a deadly force in her own right.

* * *

Outside the warehouse, tucked behind a low wall, Johann lay Leslie in the grass, looking over the wounded boy with a critical eye. He had pressed his sleeve to the side of Leslie's head, stemming the blood flow from the line that had been carved in the side of the boy's face. However, the biggest problem in Johann's estimation was Leslie's eye. The eyelid had been caught by the pistol and refused to close and the eye itself was a milky white. It was clear that Leslie would have no vision in that eye and would likely never be able to see out of it again.

The _bang_ of shotgun fire made Johann flinch and he decided that the best course of action would be to take Leslie back to the van. At least in the back he'd be safe with Alisha… although why the boy had come to the warehouse was something Johann didn't understand. He must have seen the invisible woman somehow and had come to warn them…

Johann lifted Leslie up, making sure to keep pressure of the wound, and turned to the road before coming to a stop. A figure was jogging up the road, directly towards Johann. The figure looked absolutely worse for wear and was clearly missing a hand, though Johann could sweat he could see a sheen of blue in the man's eyes.

The man came to a stop in front of Johann breathing a slow, mechanical breath. The man's gaze looked up and down Johann before decided that Johann wasn't who he was looking for and jogged past, directly towards the warehouse door. Johann watched for a moment, shocked. The imposter had presented himself as Marshall Mathers inside the warehouse – a clean Marshall, looking for all the world like the agent he was. But the man who had just passed Johan – the real Marshall Mathers – was nothing like the one depicted in the warehouse.

Leslie let out a incomprehensible groan in his fitful state and Johann knew he could think on it no longer. He could only hope that Marshall Mathers knew friend from foe in the state he was in.


	45. No Time To Waste

**Chapter Forty**

 **No Time To Waste**

 _08:20_

 _Berlin, Germany_

It seemed as if Rivera had dropped all pretence of using her invisibility to distract Jamie as she had been growing steadily more used to Rivera's patterns and quirks. It was clear to Jamie that Rivera was a formidable and intelligent fighter who wasn't afraid to change up styles. Throughout it all Jamie found it incredibly difficult to gain the advantage or get past the defence that Rivera's weapons offered. The continuous blasts of the shotgun kept her ears ringing and the swings of the machete ensured that Jamie's eyes were starting to strain just to keep an eye on all the directions they were coming from.

Jamie allowed herself a brief moment to look to see how Axel was faring and was taken aback that there appeared to be _two_ Axels, swinging metallic fists and throwing metal haymakers at each other. Jamie caught the gleam almost too late and threw her head errantly back to avoid the blade of the machete but nevertheless felt the razor-sharp blade slash across the bridge of her nose sending a stinging sensation spread across her face though the wound wasn't wide enough to spill blood.

This wasn't going well, Jamie thought as she avoided another swing of the machete. Certainly it seemed as if both she and Axel could at least stand toe-to-toe with these two fighters but the fact of the matter was that the constant gunfire would draw police presence sooner rather than later. She suspected that if the DSI were behind this then they would hold off the police as long as they could but the gunfire would frighten the civilian presence and there was no way, DSI or not, that the police could ignore that lest they face an outcry from the populace of not reacting to gunfire.

Something was wrong, Jamie realised as she avoided another machete swipe. Rivera was holding her shotgun loosely in her hand but wasn't using it at all. Was this a bluff or had she finally run out of shots from the snub-nosed automatic shotgun? Jamie remained wary as the machete stabbed at her waist, catching the hem of her shirt. It was entirely possible that Rivera was trying to draw her in to end the stalemate. It was also possible that Rivera wasn't moving to reload the shotgun in case she confirmed what Jamie suspected. Not only were they at a physical stalemate now they were at a mental stalemate.

 _Thump_.

The noise was low but it was enough for both Jamie and Rivera to glance left towards the front of the warehouse where the main door was situated. Jamie recovered a second earlier than Rivera and sent out a kick right below Rivera's knee. Rivera grimaced and stumbled back and Jamie immediately saw her chance. Reckless or not, she dived at Rivera and tackled into her with the force of a small boulder, knocking the fighter to the floor. With one hand, Jamie pinned down Rivera's shotgun hand against the warehouse floor but didn't have enough time to pin the other before the machete swung at her ear.

Jamie knew she couldn't move her head out of the way without letting go of Rivera and she wasn't willing to lose this chance. Instead she gritted her teeth and used that instant before the machete hit to move her shoulder in the way of the machete. There was a white-hot slice of pain as the machete sliced into the thick of her shoulder and grated against the collar-bone. Jamie let out a growl of pain and forced her hand down to pin Rivera's machete-hand to the floor; with both hands occupied, Rivera's determinedly vexed face floated in clear view and Jamie swung her head back and then swung it down with all the force she could muster, using her forehead to smash as hard as she could into Rivera's nose.

She heard the _crack_ of bones as she made contact and drew her face up to see Rivera's nose completely buckled and shattered. For a moment Jamie had the hope that she had knocked Rivera unconscious but the woman's watery eyes suddenly opened and she let out a guttural roar as she pushed against Jamie's grips around her wrists. Jamie was definitely smaller than Rivera and not as strong as Rivera let go of her weapons to force her hands up to Jamie. Jamie drew back her head to give Rivera another taste of her forehead before something harshly grabbed her collar and pulled Jamie like a small child off of Rivera. Her back slammed against the shelving but she immediately moved to get up to take care of the imposter but suddenly paused. She could see the back of a man in front of her but definitely looking worse for wear even from the back. However there were still two Axel's slugging it out to the right.

This man wasn't the imposter.

Marshall Mathers let out a scream upon seeing Rivera on the floor, a scream that forced the two metal-covered Axel's to swing around to face him. The blue gleam in Marshall's eyes seemed to brighten as he looked at the broken face of Rivera. Rivera sensed immense danger and managed to scramble to her feet as Marshall charged with a face full of sudden fury and animalistic intent to rip her limb from limb.

Rivera raised her eyes to block a blow that never came. Instead Marshall swept his arm down in one movement to swipe the machete from the floor with his one hand – the other strapped loosely to his chest with a makeshift sling – and thrust the machete directly into Rivera's stomach. He pushed until the hilt touched Rivera's belly and kept pushing to force Rivera against an opposite shelf, the blade sticking into a crate, pinned with absolute ease.

Marshall Mathers turned to look at Jamie and Jamie raised her fists with a jolt of electricity running through her spine. This was… this was dangerous. Whatever had become of Marshall Mathers wasn't human, not anymore. Rivera had mentioned that he had taken some kind of stamina-enhanced drug but this didn't seem like any drug that Jamie knew of. Marshall stepped towards Jamie with those bright blue eyes of his, leaving Rivera pinned against the crate to hang loosely, unable to fall.

Marshall got closer and Jamie was just about prepared to throw a fist at his face in the hope of an instant knockout but a great grey blur crashed into Marshall like a freight train. Marshall's body seemed to twist in the air before he came crashing down the aisle of shelving, skidding to a halt like a ragdoll. The huge form of Axel stomped towards Marshall before coming to a stop and looking over at Rivera pinned against the shelving. "…Rivera?" He grunted but there was no response from the woman whose head was now sagging.

The imposter of Axel turned with an expression that certainly didn't match Axel's personality – metallic coverings or not – and seemed to shrink down and change into a slender man with silver-blonde hair. Although she had no evidence of the fact, Jamie heavily suspected that this was the man's real form. He stepped forward with deathly calm to look at Marshall.

"How did you survive?" Riddle demanded.

Marshall's shoulders heaved as if he didn't understand the question.

"Answer me!"

This time Marshall opened his mouth and let out another guttural scream. He charged towards Riddle but Riddle suddenly drew a pistol with a quick draw that would make John Wayne proud. He fired shot after shot after shot, each hitting Marshall in the chest, each causing Marshall to spasm. Finally Riddle unloaded every bullet from his pistol and stood staring at Marshall whose chest was covered in not only torn clothes but crimson blood spreading over the fabric.

Yet he didn't fall and screamed again like a banshee. Riddle had the grace to look unnerved as Marshall dove at him and seemed to realise his mistake on using all his bullets all too late. Marshall hit him and drove Riddle to the floor and with unerring force thrust both thumbs deep into Riddle's eyes. Riddle let out a roar of pain and Jamie could only stay on her one knee, watching as blood welled up as Marshall dug his thumbs into Riddle's skull.

Jamie spotted movement behind Marshall and her eyes widened as Tanzi pushed both of her hands against Marshall's head. "Tanzi!" Jamie called but Marshall had already jolted backwards, pushing Tanzi away with no sign that Tanzi's touch had affected him at all. He looked at Tanzi with a fearsome animalistic aura. Suddenly, he jolted as if shocked. Every muscle on Marshall's body grew taut as he stood in front of Tanzi, his eyes seeming to pulse with that blue glow. Veins grew clear on his forehead and then he coughed – dark blood spattering against Tanzi's face. Marshall Mathers took a step backwards and blue faded out of his eyes. His lips moved and bizarrely Jamie could have sworn the man had just muttered, "Motherfucker," before his one hand suddenly grabbed at his chest, his eyes bulged, and Marshall Mathers fell back unmoving on the concrete floor.

Jamie immediately rushed over to Tanzi. "What were you thinking?!"

"I was going to take his energy out of him but… but…" Tanzi shook her head, obviously shaken. "His mind, so twisted… it was like… he was already dead on his feet. I think when he took whatever it was that made him like that… I think he had already signed his death sentence…" Tanzi shivered, wiping the blood out of her eyes.

"What are you doing here? You were to stay in the van!"

"Something came up…" Tanzi's gaze turned to Axel who was walking towards them, metal disappearing as he clutched his ribs. He reached Jamie with a grimace.

"Sorry… He was able to imitate my own strength… It came down to simple martial prowess and he was clearly the superior in that department."

"That's no small feat…" Jamie muttered, looking down at the pitiful form of Riddle who had curled up into a ball, clutching his eyes as blood poured through his fingertips. She saw a sudden movement from the shelving unit and saw Rivera reach forward and wrench the machete out of her stomach.

"Stop!" Jamie called out, stepping forward. However Rivera did not stop and stumbled forward a few steps, throwing the machete to the floor. Blood gurgled out of her belly but she paid it no mind and stared at Jamie.

"…Holly…" Rivera said in a weak voice. "She… She saved the boy… she put herself on the List… to save the boy…" Rivera fell to all fours as blood poured from both entry and exit-wound of the machete. "…Let _her_ live… at least…" With a soft and final gasp, Rivera slumped face down against the floor as a pool of blood spread out underneath her.

"Speaking of Robert…" Jamie looked around. "Where is he?"

As if on cue, there was a strange gurgling as if there was an attempt at screaming. From the shadow of the shelving unit the small pitiful form of Robert burst out with the speed of a rat. Axel and Jamie were too worn out to react quickly enough and Tanzi was too surprised to act. Rob stumbled over his feet and tripped down next to Riddle's curled up form. He opened his mouth again and let out that strange guttural sound and Jamie realised with surprise that he was missing most of his tongue. She stepped forward just as Rob scrabbled for the machete that had been thrown against the floor, lifted the heavy weapon with both hands and impaled it directly into the side of Riddle's head with a _shing_ as it pierced through bone.

Robert fell back, panting, tears rolling down his cheeks, before pulling his hands around his shoulders and clutching them tightly.

* * *

"What did you expect?" Holly called out with a small shake of her head. "That you would be able to stand up to me?" Sticks lay unconscious on the ground, blood running down the side of his face. Bethany sat against one of the metal containers, clutching a clearly broken arm. Jade was the only one standing, facing Holly with a determined expression. "So you worked out my weakness… good for you! Yet none of you hold a candle to me… me! I was trained from birth for this. I grew up in blood and tears. You? You think you could beat me?"

"It's just a matter of who lasts the longer…" Jade grinned a rebellious grin. "…And I reckon I got you covered in that department."

"Your healing is impressive. But ultimately useless," Holly stepped forward and sent a quick sharp punch into Jade's stomach so fast that Jade didn't even see it coming. Jade bent over with a gasp and Holly tripped her at the ankles, forcing Jade to fall against the concrete. Holly pressed the heel of her boot into Jade's back. "You just don't have the skills to back it up. Pipe-dreams, that's all it was. Riddle and Rivera will have dealt with the others by now…" Holly's expression faltered for a moment before refocusing down at Jade. "Who are you to even be concerned about the boy?"

"…I'm concerned about the List… I'm concerned about saving people's lives…" Jade said as Holly dug her heel in harshly.

"…the List…" Holly stopped pushing her heel and said the words almost absently.

"I'm concerned with fighting the good fight!" Jade said firmly and then shouted, "Bethany! Now!"

"Huh?" Holly turned just in time to see Bethany sprinting at her shoulder-first, clutching her broken arm. "Just give up, will you! It won't work!" Holly allowed the floating feeling to wash through her and watched as Bethany slid through her body. She smiled confidently as Bethany passed through her but the smile faltered as she felt a sudden tugging on her ankle. Jade had hooked her foot that was standing on the concrete and Holly fell hard against the concrete back-first. Immediately she found Jade pushing her legs against the concrete and Sticks had somehow jumped over her, pinning her arms down.

"Go on," Bethany said, kneeling at Holly's head in pain. "Use that power of yours…"

Holly grit her teeth in a fury.

"What's that? Oh, you can't?" Jade laughed. "You need an anchor. One part of your body'll always be solid else you'll just slide right through the floor and I expect you can't hold your breath as you fall through the core of the earth."

"So we don't have the skills to back it up?" Sticks panted, a drop of his blood dripping against Holly's cheek as he held her arms. "Man, I love it when people eat their own words! Nobody underestimates Sticks and the Skyhawks…" Sticks suddenly paused and looked to Bethany. "Hey! New band name?"

"Not on your life," Bethany responded with a shake of her head.

"Guys! You can back off now—" Tanzi's shout echoed over the sky as she came around the corner, flanked by Jamie and Axel, the latter of which carrying Robert over his shoulder like a sack of flour. All three came to a stop upon seeing the sight of the three Miracle Skyhawks members straddled over the struggling Holly. "…Oh, well."

"Got it handled!" Jade grinned before the grin faltered. "Who the hell is that?!" She pointed somewhere between Tanzi and Jamie. Both of them looked back to see Willow Orwell standing between them, a solemn expression on her face.

"Willow?" Tanzi was surprised and stepped back from Willow without meaning too. Seeing Willow brought back everything that she had seen and Tanzi had to hold her hand to stop it from shaking.

"I am afraid there is no time to celebrate," Willow said talking directly to Tanzi before looking at everybody in front of her. "Axel Daunhauer. Jade Skysong." She swung her head to each of them and then down at Holly. "Heather Cray." Then she looked to Tanzi. "…Tanzi Sakamoto… The four of you must come with me with as much haste as you can muster."

Everybody was speechless but Tanzi could only close her eyes. Yes… among that jumble of scenes she had seen when she had touched Willow… the four of them… and others… they had been in that chamber. The chamber where Tanzi had fallen… the chamber where she had died. Tanzi knew, despite the outcome, that all four of them needed to get to that chamber. They needed to follow Willow wherever it was she needed to take them.

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Four more chapters to go! Well, three more and a epilogue, at least! Things are gonna wrap up with a bang, that's for sure! Thank's for readin' and see you next time!**_


	46. Recuperation

**Chapter Forty-One**

 **Recuperation**

 _11:45 EET_

 _Egypt Skies_

The turbulence was light as the plane flew over the grey clouds that seemed to follow the small private plane throughout the whole journey. It wasn't an expensive plane, in fact it seemed quite the rickety old thing with stiff handling and rust patches under the seat yet it had done its job in taking off from the Berlin Tegel Airport. Tanzi had been very surprised at the connections Willow seemed to have. She had led with more confidence than Tanzi had ever seen, talking to specific people that took them on back routes that bypassed the majority of the crowd at the airport. Whenever suspicious people seemed to grow close, Willow would turn and avoid them, taking them all the way to the plane.

Tanzi sat on the uncomfortable leather-bound seat, feeling the sense of foreboding rising up in her stomach. One seat ahead of her sat Axel, his bigger form making the seat creak under his weight. In front of him was the still very confused and shaking form of Holly, her hands bound by a ziptie. Across the aisle sat Jade with a stiff expression on her face. Every now and again she would glance out the window before looking back down between her legs, breathing in slow and steady.

Nobody at the warehouse had agreed with taking Holly – the enemy – on this crazed errand Willow was offering but Tanzi had fought tooth and nail without telling them the exact specifics and ultimately Jamie had finally let Tanzi go. If it had only been Willow with the story then Jamie would have kept her stubbornness up but as Tanzi was able to side with Willow Jamie didn't have a whole lot of choice.

The Miracle Skyhawks had wanted to come with Jade and not separate with their band-member but Willow had come right out and said that if they had come with them then they wouldn't ever be coming back. Even now Willow had yet to explain exactly what was going on. Tanzi had snippets and expectations but otherwise… there was no certainty on this crazed mission that Willow was leading them on.

The silence that had reigned over the start of the plane journey had gotten on Tanzi's nerves. She needed conversation and a bit of human interaction if she was going to keep her sanity. If she dwelled over her own thoughts then she would fall down a rabbit hole she really didn't want to go down. So she pulled out of her way past Axel and plopped down into the empty seat next to Holly. Holly looked up surprised before instantly looking away. She had taken the deaths of her two allies, especially Rivera, quite hard. She had resisted Tanzi's efforts to drag her along with Willow until Axel had finally picked the girl up and threw her over his shoulder like a small child. Eventually Holly had finally submitted to walking and following the group.

Every so often she would attempt to escape but it seemed that Willow was keeping a close eye on Holly's futures and would warn Tanzi or Axel when an attempt was about to hit. Holly never got close to running away and now it seemed she had finally settled down. At least, up in the air, she wouldn't use her abilities unless she wanted to fall miles down towards the earth with a very messy ending.

"So who were you guys? Who did you work for?" Tanzi asked but Holly gave her no recognition at all. Tanzi sighed and raised her hand, wriggling her fingers in front of Holly's face. "I could just touch you and get any answers I wanted. Come on, Holly, I just want to talk. The three of you made quite a formidable team."

"…Four."

Tanzi cocked her head, confused. "Excuse me?"

"Four of us." Holly turned her head and narrowed her eyes at Tanzi. She looked to Tanzi's gloved hand before finally sighed and running a hand through her hair. "There were four of us. Myself, Rivera, Riddle and… Alpha. That Mathers bastard killed Alpha in our botched first mission. Hell, he killed the other two as well… I guess I just got lucky." Holly shook her head, wondering if she had been in the warehouse that things would have changed. Probably not but still… it was good to think. "We're freelance. We simply worked with the highest bidder. Riddle was a stickler for keeping reputation though so we never betrayed our initial contact. Not like Mathers. He and his company are so quick to up and turn tail with no honour to their name."

"That's it? Just a group of freelancers? Riddle and Rivera fought with skill beyond just a bunch of mercenaries."

Holly snorted. "Mercenaries? …Well, I suppose in a way we were. No… the four of us. We…" Holly licked her lips considering what she was about to say before shrugging her shoulders with a great. "Oh, what's the use in hiding anything? They're all dead and I'll follow in their footsteps soon enough. "The four of us were a combat squad of your Department of Supernatural Investigations back in the early noughties."

This took Tanzi by surprise but it was Axel who leaned in from behind them. "Entschuldigen Sie mich? You were part of the Combat Division?"

Holly looked back at him. "Yeah… We were one of the most dangerous. Performed assassinations… ended lives… literally ended lives. The way we did our job was to get into the head of our targets. Riddle would morph himself into loved ones to slowly nick away at the target's psyche… myself and Rivera would cause noises and knock things off shelves, making the target suspicious and paranoid. Alpha was the one who'd generally come in and finish the job. By the time we were done the target would be an absolute wreck, deserving of death."

"I've never heard of a group like that…" Axel said.

"You wouldn't. Our ways were deemed to… psychologically damaging. Riddle told the Board that it was either that or we would leave. Well, they didn't like it so Riddle did what he said and we left. As far as I can gather, the DSI wiped their hands of us. Never even sent assassins after _us_. I guess they got too scared. Maybe it'd be better if they did."

"You doubted what you did?"

"I suppose sometimes it grew a bit… unnecessary. But Riddle named himself Riddle for a reason. He enjoyed considering the targets like puzzles to solve. He was obsessed." Holly turned to look out the window. "There you go. I spilled the beans. Not gonna do you a fat lot of good, really."

Tanzi nodded slowly before continuing, "Rivera told Jamie that you saved Robert."

Holly didn't respond just nodded silently.

"I'm guessing you know you're on the List, then? Seems like the kind of thing you people know about."

Holly let out a bitter laugh. "I don't know why I did it… I just… did. So yeah. Sooner than later I'm gonna meet my untimely demise." Looking down through the clouds she muttered, "At least I can see some of the world before I go."

At that moment, the cabin door opened at the end of the small plane and Willow walked in with that same dreamy air that Tanzi had seen before. Sometimes she walked like a woman possessed and sometimes she walked as if she had all the time in the world which as far as Tanzi knew was not the case at all.

"We'll be descending down in an hour so I'd advise you all to sit down and hold onto something as things will get a bit rickety. We're going to be landing at an airstrip in New Valley – well, at least, it's used as an airstrip. We'll be getting new clothes there and heading straight out into the desert. I'd suggest grabbing a last hour of shut-eye or so to keep your energy up."

* * *

 _10:55 CET_

 _Berlin, Germany_

Jamie had to pull all kinds of strings to ensure the hospital beds were in the same room. She had called in all the favours she had hidden away to keep their admittance to the Vivantes Hospital so that the DSI wouldn't catch wind of where they were. She had paid off the head of the hospital as well as the nurses and doctors to keep their presence hidden. Jamie suspected it wouldn't last long but she hoped for at least a couple of days of peace and quiet.

She stood at the end of the long hospital room after an exhausting conversation with the head of the hospital and saw five of the six hospital beds in the room occupied. Leslie's face was bundled in bandaged at his slept comfortably in the bed, his diary on the bedside cabinet. The poor boy must have been exhausted and he would have a hard road of recovery ahead of him. He would never be able to see out of the injured eye again and there was a good change the scarring wouldn't disappear. Alisha sat on the chair next to his bed as she had gotten a small kinship with the boy and she felt out of place with anybody else.

The next two beds were occupied by the awake Sticks and Bethany, talking with their band-mate Murphy, filling him in on everything in a very animated discussion. Sticks had a bandage wrapped around his head and Bethany had her arm in a sling but otherwise they seemed to be in relative good spirits. Every so often Murphy would glance at the bed by the window before focusing back in on his friends.

The next bed was that of Robert Winters who had also fallen fast asleep. While he would never be able to speak properly again the injuries the boy had sustained were more psychological than physical. The shock of being kidnapped by Marshall Mathers, of being attacked on that road, of being mutilated at the hands of Riddle and Rivera, and the pure shock of killing a man in Riddle. Yet Jamie suspected the boy's journey had only just begun.

Between this bed and the last bed sat Sam and Werner Remmy, the stranger Rose had effectively forced to drive them to Johann's house. Werner had wanted to leave but Jamie had forced him to stay. He was in this situation now and she wasn't comfortable letting the builder run off before they could get their stories straight.

Finally Jamie headed towards the last bed at the window and the bed that she was most interested in. Rose sat with her back against a pile of pillows, staring out at the window with her hands laying on the rails, deathly silent. Jamie hadn't seen her speak a word even as the doctors had redressed the wound and had informed her that she wouldn't be able to use that leg again. Even when they told her they would have to cut the last strands of muscle off to amputate the dead flesh of the leg Rose couldn't only nod absently.

"Hey," Jamie said softly as she sat at the end of Rose's bed. Rose turned to Jamie with unfocused eyes. Then she blinked and looked around the room.

"Where's the professor?"

"He's burying his deerhound, the dog Jäger. He wanted to do it as soon as possible."

"I see…" Jamie watched Rose's face carefully. It was clear that she was trying to deflect from the conversation that she suspected – rightly so – that Jamie was here for. Rose avoided Jamie's gaze until finally she let out an exhausted sigh. "I don't want to talk about it, Jamie. I don't even… I don't even want to think about it."

"…Siddharth was your friend, Rose… it's okay to grieve…"

Rose's face turned stony. "He wouldn't want me to."

"I may have not known Sidd for too long but I know he wouldn't want you like this. Shutting up your feelings."

"What else can I do, Jamie?" Rose asked with wide eyes. "You don't understand—" Almost instantly Rose regretted what she had just said. She bit down on her lip and looked away from Jamie. "I'm sorry."

"It's exactly _because_ I understand that I know what you need," Jamie said softly and reached her hand to rest on her niece's own. "You cannot keep the emotions locked away inside you."

Rose gulped and her eyes turned dewy yet she stayed resolute. "I can't, Jamie. I just… I just can't. If I let myself… If I let myself… grieve… then… then I won't be prepared for when it happens again."

"…Rose…"

"It will. The List is still active…" Rose sniffed and looked around the hospital room. "Death is still hunting us down. After that initial flurry I've had a reprieve… but in two days, one day, an hour… maybe in a minute… I'll have a vision. The List is going to continue. More people are going to die."

"Not if we-"

"Jamie, please. You and I both know the realistic chances. Siddharth's research led him to Glastonbury Tor. You think we can get there, find the Chalice or the Grail or whatever the hell it's called, get back without anyone else dying? It… It isn't going to happen… more… more people are going to die… I'll try… I'll try but… I mean, I can't promise… I…" Rose paused, looking up at Jamie with a surprised expression as tears ran down unfettered on her cheeks. "First dad… then William… then Siddharth… What—What if you're next, Jamie? I… I can't… I won't..."

With a weight in her chest, Jamie reached forward and wrapped Rose in a tight hug. She couldn't promise that there wouldn't be any more deaths. She couldn't promise that she herself would survive. All she knew at this point was that Rose needed all the help she could get to reach this chalice and to save the survivors of the List. Come hell or high water, wanted by the DSI or not, Jamie would do her damn best to ensure Rose's survival.


	47. The Pyramid

**Chapter Forty-Two**

 **The Pyramid**

 _14:10 EET_

 _Sahara Desert_

Tanzi squinted through the painfully bright desert, trying to discern anything from anything in the mass of sand dunes that extended out before her. The sun battered down on her bare hands and cheeks but otherwise she was dressed in robes that Willow had purchased them before they had headed out into this desert without even a camel to ride. Tanzi pushed her way through the sand having grown quite used to walking across the dunes in the last two hours to rise to the crest of yet another dune.

She had to let out a small gasp at the impressive sight before her. It may have been the same thing over and over again but the sight of the dunes extending out an impossible distance made her appreciate the yellow-orange beauty of this desert. She peered left to right as she waited for her companions and narrowed her eyes through the hazy distance to see what looked to be the shrivelled trunks of a collection of trees.

"That is where we are heading," Willow said as she came to a stop next to Tanzi, wearing the robes as if it came natural to her.

"There?" Jade said as she stopped next to Willow to peer at where she and Tanzi were looking. Jade's face was red under her white robes but out of exertion rather than sunburn. Pushing through the sand was playing hell on her calves and thighs. "Looks like a bunch of nothing to me."

"Gottverdammt," Axel cursed as he stomped up next to Jade, looking quite strange wrapped in robes for as big as he was. His fingers naturally went to his moustache as he shook his head in annoyance. "This whole wüste looks like a lot of nothing to me." Axel took a swig out of a black flask he held in his hands and started forward. "Let us go then. The closer we get to where we're going the closer were can get out of this infernal hitze."

Jade shrugged and continued after Axel down the dune, stumbling in the sand but keeping her footing. Willow followed after with the grace of a figure skater, clearly experienced at travelling the sands. However Tanzi paused to look back to see Holly having quite the time trying to make it up the dune. She was practically on her hands and knees, trying to find any kind of hold in the sand. She crawled up only to slip down a little bit before pushing up again. Under the white hood of her robe her face was curled up in exhaustion and annoyance.

"Here," Tanzi crouched down and offered her hand down to Holly.

"I don't need your charity," Holly huffed as she pushed her hand into the sand and slid down again with the scattering of sand. "Christ! Why the bloody hell are we here anyway?!" Holly started up again and looked to see Tanzi's hand still proffered. She thought about it for a moment then decided that it was worth the blow to her pride to get off the infernal dune. Holly reached up and grabbed Tanzi's gloved hand and Tanzi pulled her up to the top of the dune. "She's staying tight-lipped. Is that for my benefit?" She asked sarcastically, taking the moment to breathe as they watched the trio in front of them move forward.

"None of us know why we're here," Tanzi replied though didn't mention the fact that she had _seen_ why they were here. It was still in fragments but Tanzi could put two-and-two together. She wished she had spent more time with Ruby but she still had that connection they had made back in Eastbourne keeping her going. Hell, that time in Naomi's mansion was the only thing that was keeping her courage up. "We ought to go. We don't want to lose Willow out here."

* * *

 _15:20_

 _Sahara Desert_

The trees were a lot further away than they looked – no doubt a trick of the heat – but eventually the mismatched group of five got close enough to see that it was a dried up oasis. There was an incline set in the middle of a group of withered trees that must have been water long ago. All there was now was the husks of the trees, a few withered roots, and shadows that thrust out over the sand like black spears.

Axel suddenly stopped in the lead, putting one hand out to stop Jade from running straight into him and pointing the one that held his flask over to the trees. "Halt. Do you hear that?" Everyone came to a stop and strained their ears. For a few seconds it seemed like Axel was hearing things but then there it was, a chiming that sounded like a wind chime in a faint breeze. Axel clipped the flask to the satchel hung around his shoulders and approached slowly. A breeze ran over the dried-out oasis and the tinkling grew louder for a moment before dying down with the breeze.

"Everything is as expected, Axel," Willow said dreamily and passed Axel to walk to one of the trees. The group tentatively followed her and came to a stop on the other side of the tree. "Yes, as expected." Willow repeated as she looked down.

For a moment Tanzi couldn't quite understand what she was looking at – some kind of half-buried statue? – before she came to the realisation that it was a woman with tanned skin and cracked lips, eyes half-closed and fluttering. The twinkling was coming from her ponytail that was tangled up in the roots of a bush with bells strung to the hair, waving in the faint breeze. The woman's legs were all but gone under the sand and her arms hung limp.

"…Tujda…" the woman muttered in a voice so faint that it was as if it was the breeze itself.

"Water!" Tanzi demanded, grabbing the flask offered to her from Axel. She knelt down beside the woman and gently pushed loose strands of hair out of her face. The woman's eyes seemed to flicker open and Tanzi saw the blue eyes focus and grow strong. The woman weakly raised her arm towards the flask.

"Ma'a… Ma'a…" she gestured weakly with her fingers at the flask before the hand dropped back into the sand as if it was the last of her strength.

"I got water, don't worry," Tanzi put the rim of the flask at the woman's lips and gently raised it, allowing a dribble of water into the woman's dried mouth. The woman's tongue lapped around her lips, searching for every inch of substance that she could get.

It took a while of gentle coaxing and emptying the entire bottle with a trickle into the woman's mouth but finally the woman was strong enough to push herself out of the sand and lean against the tree weakly. The weak tendrils of the bush snapped and pulled away from her ponytail. She placed a hand on her forehead, wincing in pain, before looking around at her saviour. "Min 'anat?" The woman said in a cracked voice. She swallowed, shook her head, and licked her lips. "You are not native." It wasn't a question.

"You speak English?" Jade asked in surprised.

"I speak many languages," the woman said, "Who are you, to come across me here? Are you with Talon?"

"Talon?" Tanzi echoed. "What is Talon?" She glanced over to Willow but the woman was looking away from the oasis, tapping her foot impatiently. This surprised Tanzi as Willow generally had a firm grip on the time. Perhaps the recovery of this woman took longer than she had expected.

"…No matter… No matter…" The woman shook her head before straightening herself, standing tall and regal, almost a head taller than Tanzi and Jade. "My name is Zeina Morcos. I have lost my way and I must get back. I thank you for assistance but I must leave."

"You're in no state to go anywhere," Tanzi said firmly but was surprised when Axel gently pushed her to the side with his frame and stood in front of Zeina Morcos, craning his head to look down at her.

"…Zeina Morcos…?" He spoke, eyes twinkling with interest. "Kann es sein?" He peered at her closely. "Ja. It _is_."

"You… know her…?" Jade asked, thoroughly lost.

Axel glanced over to Willow who was opening and closing her hands now. "Coincidence." He muttered. "Perhaps not." He looked back to the others. "Zeina Morcos is the CEO of the Egyptian branch of the DSI."

"You're DSI?" Zeina asked with wide eyes. "They've realised what is happening?!"

"I'm afraid not," Axel shook his head gently. " _I_ am DSI. The rest, not so much. It has been... complicated… to say the least."

"…Complicated…" Zeina let out a small groan. "I know of complicated. My journey has been exactly that." She looked at the group with narrowed eyes. "If the rest are not DSI then what exactly are you doing here? If you're not with Talon and not here by order of the DSI… I don't understand."

"We don't have time for this!" Willow suddenly called out, her patience finally running out. "No time. No time at all. We must get to the pyramid before it is too late, we must get there before Death!"

"What?" Jade exclaimed sharply, her head whipping to Willow.

"Before what?" Axel asked.

"…Death…" Holly muttered, shivering slightly in the heat of the desert.

Zeina immediately stepped towards Willow. "What do _you_ know of Death? Speak!"

"Do not misunderstand, Zeina Morcos. We are on the same side." Willow shook her head wildly. "We have not the time, though, not the time! I came here for you yet you recovered too long! We must move, we must move, the future is narrowing down and we must get to the Pyramid! Explanations can come later, introductions can come later, more can come later but now, now, now, we must go!" Willow descended into a strange frantic kind of speech, sounding almost mad. Her hair whipped in a sudden breeze as she turned on her heel and marched away from the dried up oasis. "Go, go, follow! She is waiting for him. We must get there first."

* * *

 _15:40_

 _Sahara Desert_

The group with their new companion travelled for a further half an hour at a frantic pace led by Willow. Willow glided through the sand with ease whereas the rest stumbled and tripped through the sand in an attempt to keep up. Holly was having so much trouble that Axel finally lifted the girl up and held her in her arms despite her protests. Jade and Tanzi both helped Zeina whose strength hadn't fully come back. Tanzi wanted nothing more than to talk more to Zeina but the pace Willow was setting and the sheer exhaustion of the travel meant that they was no place for talking.

Willow finally came to a stop at a dune of sand that looked just like any other dune of sand. Panting and sweating, the rest of the group came to a stop. Holly fought her way out of Axel's arms and Zeina gently pried herself loose from Jade and Tanzi's grip. They stood side-by-side, watching Willow as she walked forward. They all saw it at the same time just as Willow fell to one knee – a pyramid no smaller than a child's toy – jutting out of the sand. Willow bent her face to the tip and then let out a sharp whistle that echoed through the air.

Almost immediately a breeze rose up and seemed to stir the sand at everyone's feet. Willow backed up and the breeze turned into a gale around the small pyramid. They watched amazed as a trench was dug into the sand revealing a hidden pyramid dug deep into the sand. The small pyramid was only the apex and when the wind died down revealing a small black passage it was clear that there must be a further length to the Pyramid underneath.

"Come, come, come!" Willow said, one hand absently holding the side of her head. She made for the hole in the side of the Pyramid and went through it feet first with an expert movement, disappearing into the blackness. The remaining five stood for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"…And I thought healing my injuries was as crazy as my life would get…" Jade shook her head, took a breath, and followed in Willow's footsteps, disappearing into the hole.

"Come, Holly, in you go," Axel ushered Holly towards the pyramid's entrance. Holly hesitated but it was either stay out here in the scorching desert or head into shade and possible more substance than water. She followed after Jade and Axel peered into the hole doubtfully. "Hmm… I hope I do not get stuck. _Weiter_." With that, Axel squeezed feet first into the hole, his shoulders scraping against the sides but he managed to squeeze through leaving Zeina and Tanzi together.

Tanzi looked to Zeina Morcos and saw that she was deep in thought. "…Zeina? We should go."

Zeina focused on Tanzi. "Yes. Yes, I suppose we should. Sorry. I believe I have connected some dots that needed connecting. I fear for our safety if what I suspect is true. Nevertheless… we must face the future with courage, even if we suspect that it holds only the end." With that, Zeina slid into the black entrance. Tanzi walked up to it and bit her lip, a shiver running through her spine. Zeina's words held more weight than she herself could possibly realise for Tanzi didn't just _suspect_ that it was the end. She was quite certain that it would be.

With a shake of her head, Tanzi crept into the passage.

She was immediately attacked on all sides by darkness but used her hands to guide her down the steep passage. Her shoes slid on the stone every now and again but finally Tanzi made it to the bottom into a small chamber lit by a flickering torch on the wall. Everyone had huddled together like a pack of animals keeping together for warmth. Willow was the only one missing but going by the fact there was only one corridor to follow it was clear where she had went.

"Let's go," Tanzi said, trying to steal some of Ruby's confidence and optimism. She smiled at them and was relieved to find Zeina at least smile back.

"Indeed. We can only fear the unknown while it stays as such," Zeina clapped Tanzi on the back as she walked past and Tanzi found the confidence to lead the group down the passage which seemed to widen before straightening out. She walked past numerous corridors yet found herself called in one particular direction. Perhaps this was an effect of absorbing Willow's memories – at least she hoped it was, else she had just gotten everyone hopelessly lost in a pyramid. As the doubts started to creep in Tanzi finally found herself entering a large chamber. She came to a stop, staring at the sarcophagus in the middle of the room with three figures surrounding it.

"They'll be here soon, too soon, likely right on our heels. They follow, I can feel it, I know it," Willow was saying in rapid-fire words. "Not good, not good, we must prepare, we must—"

"Willow," a young man said who shared a lot of similar features to Willow. He leaned forward and placed his forehead against Willow's own. "Calm yourself. You're letting your mind go haywire again."

Willow let in a breath and then slowly pulled away. "…Yes. Yes, of course. I am sorry." She shook her head and took another breath. "Thank you, Ash."

"Good job, Willow," the third voice said, belonging to a woman that Tanzi recognised almost instantly though it couldn't be possible. Ruby had told her what had happened at that Lighthouse, had felt such raw emotion that it had almost defeated even _her_ optimism. Yet… Yet..

"…the fuck!?" Jade called out with as little tact as she could muster. " _Paige Calloway?_ "

Paige smiled down at them though the smile didn't reach her eyes - eyes, Tanzi noticed, a lot different from the eyes she had seen at Eastbourne back when everything had seemed so simple as compared to now. "Hey."

"You're supposed to be dead!" Jade blurted out, stepping forward to her former classmate. "I'm going absolutely bloody crazy! You're _dead_!"

"Clearly, I am not," Paige Calloway said and walked forward towards the group that had fanned out behind Tanzi. She immediately moved towards Zeina and stood in front of the woman. "I am sorry for the storm. It was the only way to keep them at bay while we gathered who we needed to gather. It would have been strange if you had _not_ been caught up in it."

"The storm was you're doing?" Zeina asked, peering at Paige. "I nearly died."

"You would never have died," Paige said quietly. "Your rescue had already been seen by Willow here. You were never in any danger."

"Well, not entirely true," Willow said but Paige snapped her a look. "Sorry."

"What's going on?" Tanzi called, as amazed to see Paige alive as Jade. "I don't understand… Ruby told us you'd gone off the cliff… that the List claimed you."

"I did. It did. Turns out things are… different…" Paige ran a hand through her hair and Tanzi noticed that she had a strange ornate looking knife strapped to her belt. She didn't like the look of that knife at all. "I am sorry. I would love to explain what is happening, to talk you through what is going on but I cannot. I have not the time. I suspect at this moment they are coming into the pyramid as we speak."

"What are you planning?" Zeina asked with narrowed eyes. "This is about Death, is it not? It has to be."

"It is," Paige nodded.

"This is… about the List?" Tanzi asked.

This time Paige shook her head. "No, Tanzi, I'm afraid not. This is about _more_ than the List. So much more. This is about the fate of humanity. This is about stopping the injustice. Stopping the loop. This will not only stop the List but stop so much more. Stop the horrors of this world from being permeated."

Something sounded strangely familiar about this to Tanzi but she couldn't quite place it.

" _What_ are you planning?" Zeina repeated.

Paige absently stroked the blade of the knife and Tanzi realised why this all felt so familiar. Paige's words brought to mind the words William Bludworth spoke to her in that morgue under the Eastbourne general hospital. About the boy Shishak Kaka and his journey to kill the god of the underworld. As if to confirm Tanzi's sudden realisation, Paige looked up at them all. "I am going to kill Death."

"Impossible!" Zeina immediately said, shaking her head, the bells tinkling. "I saw his face get caved in by a sniper! He regenerated it as if it were nothing! If _that_ couldn't kill him then nothing else can! Whatever foolish plan you have it will not work. He will kill you with but a gaze!"

"No." Paige said. "He will kill none of us with a gaze. Not even with a touch."

"What…?" Zeina narrowed her eyes however at that moment the sound of footsteps could be heard – quiet at first, but growing louder by the second. Paige stiffened and her hand went to the hilt of the knife.

"Come to me, survivors, now!" Paige said, beckoning them to her. Tanzi made to follow the group up to the sarcophagus but caught Willow's gaze. As if they still shared the same mind, Tanzi understand exactly what Willow was telling her. She refrained from following and instead backed up directly against the wall beside the corridor that led into the chamber. Tanzi held her breath and watched Axel, Holly, Zeina and Jade stand up next to Willow and Ashe with Paige standing in front of them all.

The footsteps grew louder and louder and Tanzi realised that it wasn't just one set of footsteps but what sounded like three sets. Her lungs screamed at her but Tanzi didn't dare breath as _he_ appeared, strolling into the chamber with all the confidence in his gait.

Death.

He came to a stop with his dark skin and his elegant robes, staring up at Paige Calloway without even a glance at the others. There was a strange look in his eyes like he had found something that had been lost to him for a very long time. Moments after two other figures followed the other. Bobby Yates and his faithful follower, Marianne. Bobby had a cocky grin on his face while Marianne was silent and cold.

From her position by the corridor, Tanzi allowed herself to let out a very long, very quiet breath. None of the three had seen her. Death opened his arms wide. "My daughter…"

" _Don't!"_ Paige hissed, pulling the handle of the knife and pointing the ancient blade towards Death. "You are no father of mine!"

"You wound me so, Paige, you wound me. Robert has accepted his lineage. You will accept yours," Death stepped forward towards the sarcophagus. "This is just… rebelling against a father. A concept you mortals do so love. Do you think I know not what you are doing? This chamber? This tomb? The tomb of Shishak Kaka. His knife?" Death shook his head. "Do you hope to seal me, daughter of mine? Do you hope to end death once and for all? You put yourself in Shishak's pitiful shoes. It never worked for him it will never work for you. Stop this foolish notion and join me as your brother has. I will take you away from all of this – to the seven levels – away from this plane of despair and mortality."

"You think I'd _ever_ want to go with you?!" Paige sneered. "You think you have power over me?"

Death's expression stiffened slightly. "I am but a father who requires his daughter by his side. I may have no _true_ power over you… yet these mortals you side yourself with?" Death raised his hands high above his head. Tanzi noticed Zeina stiffen at the end of the row. "Then shall I rid you of them so you have no more connection?!" He swept his hands down and Tanzi felt a strange feeling in her chest, as if her heart skipped a beat. She clutched desperately at her chest, hoping the small gasp she had let out hadn't been heart.

It seemed it hadn't, as Death was more focused on the people standing behind Paige – none of which had fallen down. His face betrayed his surprise. "What is this… what is… Oh… Oh, I see…" Death laughed. A deep, hearty laugh. "I see! I would expect no less from my daughter! You have selected the kin of my brothers to stick to your side! Those of my blood who cannot be effected. You think that will stop me? You think this small _resistance_ of yours will last? No matter. I will do this the way of old. Robert, Marianne. Assist me in snuffing out the lives of these mortals. Do not touch Paige. The rest… kill them all. Perhaps despair will make my daughter understand that her place is by my side."

"If you want to fight…" Paige said, squeezing her hand over the handle of the blade so hard her fingers with turning white. "Then we will fight! We will not accept death! We will not accept your rule! We will not work with _her_."

"…You think…" Death's voice was small, almost surprised. "You think… you think I'm working with your mother?" He cocked his head. "No, Paige Calloway, no. That is not the case at all. I am _saving_ you and Robert from your mother's grasp. By my side you can finally be free of her gaze! For when she gets free, your safety is of the most importance! All these mortals shall perish on this planet of yours but I will not let that happen to the two of you. You will _survive_ by my side, when so many others will fall."

This was it. Tanzi knew it in her heart. It was now or never. Before the fight. Before anyone could die. Tanzi pulled off her gloves quickly, letting them drop to the floor. She looked directly at Death's back. In only a few short minutes… in that short a time… everything would be over. She would never reconcile with her mother, would never make it back to Eastbourne, would never see the List be beaten. Jamie, who had helped her develop her abilities, Zach, Naomi, Jade, the survivors from Eastbourne… Rose, the new visionary, the new survivors… all of them… Tanzi wished them the best in whatever world was going to develop in the next months and years.

"Ruby…" Tanzi breathed in a voice so low that only she could hear it. "…Give me strength." With Ruby's smiling face bubbling up inside her mind, Tanzi burst out from the wall at a sprint towards Death. She swept past Marianne before the girl could even notice her, reached out with her bare palms, and latched her fingers around either side of Death's head. She felt her heart skip again, her blood boil inside of her, then was invaded by the crystal clear images of Death's memories.


	48. Death

**Chapter Forty-Three**

 **Death**

The sun was far too bright as it hung in the sky, shining down on the sand dunes of the Sahara, a shining globe of yellow in a canvas of blue with no cloud to be seen. The only object that could be seen other than sand in the desert was the pyramid jutting from the ground. It was a small pyramid as pyramids went but it still towered high above the group of four men as they approached with a camel-led wagon in tow.

Tanzi found herself to the side of these four men in this vision of such vividness that she wasn't certain whether she hadn't been thrown back in time. When she went into someone's mind it would usually be flashes or short scenes but this wasn't like any that she had experienced before. She didn't feel like a ghost, like an observer. She felt like she was actually there outside of the pyramid with the heat on her brow and the sand on her shoes.

"I do not understand. Where is the town? The village?" One of the four companions spoke and Tanzi looked to see that all shared the same dark skin and dazzling blue eyes. They must have been related in some fashion. She looked to each of them in turn and found her eyes lingering on the only one who was bald with an unsure expression on his face. It was the face of Death.

"What does it matter? This is the location. This is where the map led us. I have no doubt," another said with confidence oozing out of him. He had a wild look in his eyes and gave Tanzi the impression that he would explode with anger at a moment's notice.

"There should be a town, Akadios," the first speaker replied and Tanzi noticed that he looked paler than the rest with dark rings around his eyes. It was as if he were ill but was stubbornly refusing treatment. However her thoughts turned to the name – Akadios. The moment it was spoken she found that she knew each of the four's names as if someone was writing notes on the memory. The man with wild eyes was Akadios, the sickly one was named Maro, the thick and spindly one was Prokles and finally the one who shared Death's face was Kyros and they were all brothers, all of similar age, no one brother particularly older than the other.

"Perhaps it is buried under all this sand?" Akadios kicked the sand irritably with his foot. "Perhaps it was torn down to build that pyramid. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, _what does it matter?"_

"Don't get angry, dear brother," Maro said.

" _Angry_?" Akadios' eyes flared dangerously. It was at this moment that Tanzi noticed that the voices she was hearing wasn't matching the mouths of the brothers. It seemed that whatever was giving her the notes on the brothers was also translating their words for her. It couldn't be a conscious decision by Death, could it?

"There," Death—Kyros—spoke quietly but it seemed none of the other three brothers wanted to notice he was even there at all.

"I _could_ get angry, if you want to see it! I did not travel across this damned desert to end up at the _wrong_ location! This is where we need to be!" Akadios paced back and forth. "We just have to find the entrance."

"There!" Kyros said in a louder voice that finally got Akadios' attention.

"Keep quiet while the adults are talking!"

"Up there!" Kyros insisted, pointing up to the tip of the pyramid. Tanzi followed his finger and saw that he was pointing at a small entrance near the top of the pyramid. She realised with a jolt that this was the very same pyramid she was currently in and that was the entrance.

" _ **So you want to see my story? See into my mind?**_ _"_ The voice was a whisper in Tanzi's ear. She whirled around but saw nobody. " _ **What do you seek? The truth behind your world? Your abilities? Do you seek validation? Glory? Power? What do you hope to find, dear girl?"**_

"I…" Tanzi spoke and found her voice echoing as if in a sealed chamber. "I want to stop you!"

" _ **Stop me? So you agree with my foolish daughter's ideals… you follow that Oracle's so-called written future… Did she show you my defeat? Did she show you false futures?"**_

"She showed me… she showed me my death," Tanzi admitted, squeezing her fists closed.

" _ **And yet you try to take my powers? My thoughts? If you are so intent then let me show you what you are up against. How hopeless your plight is.**_ "

At these words, the pyramid and the sand seemed to fade away into pitch darkness before being replaced with the inner chamber where the sarcophagus lay. However, there was no sarcophagus, no jars surrounding the chamber, only an ornate golden box around the size of a coffin with runes and markings engraved into its surface.

"Treasure! I knew it!" Akadios strode forward from the corridor to enter the chamber. "The seer was right!" He spun on his heel to face Maro and Prokles. Kyros stayed back in the shadow of the chamber, his face downcast. "We shall be richer than any! We shall stand above the Gods of the Pantheon! Our names will be inscribed in epochs written for hundreds of generations! Until the end of time! They will sing our names, they will sing of Akadios and his brothers, of Maro and Prokles. They will sing and drink to our very souls!"

Akadios strode forward without a care in the world. Maro followed close behind but Prokles at least stayed behind near Kyros. "Akadios… Perhaps we should think before we look. A treasure such as promised would be heavily defend—"

"You always were a coward! If you hesitate at every corner you shall never make any progress!" Akadios called back, stepping up to the ornate box. Maro held his hands over the top of the box and let in an intake of breath.

"Brother, this… does not feel… right… I feel such… _triumph_ …" Maro's whisper was filled with awe.

"I do not want to _feel_ it. I want to see what's _in_ it!" Akadios exclaimed and hooked his fingers under the lid of the box. He strained and pulled and turned red in the face but was unable to budge the golden stone. "Brothers, help me!" Maro immediately obeyed and grasped his side of the box, pulling up. It shifted – but only barely. Tanzi felt a shiver run directly into her spine as she watched Prokles weigh his options. Then the third brother walked up to join the others, leaving only Kyros to watch over them still hidden in the corridor.

The three brothers combined their strengths and with a count from Akadios they all strained with the lid until they finally pulled the lid of the box to the side where it crashed down. As soon as the lid hit the floor something surged out of the ornate box, an aura that burst across the chamber. Akadios, Maro, and Prokles were all thrown back away from the box and even Kyros was knocked down from his position far from the box.

" _ **This was our mistake. To open that which should never be opened. To seek that which never should have been found. Yet my eldest brother, Akadios, his stubbornness was legendary and Maro and Prokles would never truly resist his demands. Only I, in my cowardness, stayed firm in my convictions. I know now that I should have warned them. I should have stopped them. I should have caved in their skulls and left them to rot in that tomb!**_ " The voice grew embittered and cold in Tanzi's ears. " _ **Yet I did nothing! I allowed them to free that which should not be freed! It was my fault that I lost my brothers, that I lost myself, that I broke the very foundation of the world we were born in! I took no action and it haunts me to this very day.**_ "

The voice disappeared just as something appeared at the edge of the box. It took Tanzi a few moments to realise it was a hand – a hand as pale as porcelain with what looked to be a golden glow running through its wrist. Then another hand grasped the side of the box and then both pulled and Tanzi watched as the most beautiful woman she had ever seen rose from the box like an angel ascending.

Her hair was weaved of golden thread, her teeth carved from marble, her eyes polished to perfect splendour, her body unmarred and her figure full. No, beautiful didn't cover this woman. Tanzi felt as if she were looking upon a goddess.

" _ **A goddess? I suppose she does look like one. Do not be fooled. She was – and is – a demon with a golden tongue.**_ "

The four brothers slowly climbed to their feet and watched wordlessly as the woman stepped out of the box, her beauty drawing them all to a stupor. Akadios, Maro, and Prokles stood side by side, their eyes taking in every inch of the woman in front of them. Kyros could only look at her eyes and nothing more, his gaze never once wandered. The woman smiled a smile that threatened to pull Tanzi from her senses and the memory it was so strong.

" _ **I was in love. We all were. My brothers saw the body of the woman and fell in love with that. I saw her face and I saw her eyes and I fell in love with whatever woman was lying inside of that body. Her flesh did not interest me.**_ "

The woman stepped towards the three brothers standing in a row with the grace of a gazelle. When she spoke, her voice was honey in the air. "You are my saviours? My heroes? You are the ones who have freed me from my prison and defied the gods themselves?" She stopped in front of Akadios and reached up to put her finger on his cheek. "Is this correct?"

"Y-Yes," Akadios said in his frozen state. "Yes."

"Then I must reward you…" The woman leaned forward and kissed Akadios on the lips. A tremor ran up through Akadios' body and the woman pulled back, her eyes filled with so much lust that it was a wonder she didn't leap on him then and there. As Akadios stood trembling, the woman stepped to the side and kissed Prokles on the lips and then followed with Maro. As she pulled away from the pale Maro, she cast her gaze over his shoulder to Kyros but did not approach him. Instead she drew back to stand by her box, trailing her fingers across the ornate markings. The woman leaned down and picked the lid of the box up – the lid that had took three fully grown men to lift – and placed it delicately back upon the box. "There. We wouldn't want anything undesirable to escape now, would we?"

The woman put her hand against her neck and trailed it down her naked body but from her fingertips flourished woven cloth, white and pure, clinging to her form. "My saviours deserve to know of whom they have saved, would you not agree?" The woman waved her hand and just like the clothes on her back she created a chair as if drawing in the air itself. She sat on the golden chair and crossed her legs.

"I am Pandora."

" _ **Pandora**_." Death repeated in Tanzi's ear. " _ **The temptress. The evil succubus. She had captivated us all. She destroyed us all.**_ "

"Yet a kiss is not a reward for freeing Pandora, no, no, not at all." Pandora weaved a book out of the air and opened it in front of her. She studied it for a long while where all four brothers stood frozen before closing it and placing it on the floor. "With my freedom comes my rule. The age of gods and men is over. Now is the age of Pandora. The world has grown unfocused. I must change this… _we_ must change this." Pandora stood and stepped in front of the three brothers. "I will not do this alone. Your reward is to be my generals. My leaders. My four horsemen."

Pandora stood in front of Akadios again but this time did not kiss him, instead placed three fingers over his lips. Akadios stiffened even further as a golden energy poured from her fingers like wine. "You who has great rage in your heart, a leader of others, whose temper is short. You shall be War and guide the mortals to their destiny. You shall give them the weapons they need to develop who they are. You will guide the fate of man to greater warfare. To fight. To _die_."

Next she stood in front of Prokles and repeated the three-fingered gesture. "You shall be Famine. The taker of sustenance, the giver of suffering. Crops will wilt and burn under your command. You and you alone decide who grows fat and content and who turns into bones upon the roadside. You will give meaning to what the Mortals fight for."

Pandora stood in front of Maro and placed her three fingers on his lips. "For you, Pestilence. You will weave rivers of disease and corruption upon these mortals and teach them to fear nature and fight against it. Millions will die by the merest cough and you shall spawn the vilest of corruption within the mortals – body and mind alike. Men will grow putrid, females will grow infertile, and in turn they shall corrupt the world in which they sit and bring ruin by their own hand."

Pandora looked at each of the three in turn before gently walking to Kyros for the first time. The three brothers turned but made no movement as if under a powerful hypnotic spell from Pandora. "You… My dear boy…" She walked up to Kyros and Kyros was the only brother who took a step backwards but that was all he could manage before Pandora placed her three fingers upon his mouth. "You who look past my flesh and dare try to look inside me. That courage. That bravery. That foolishness. You shall be Death, the gatekeeper of those mortals stricken down by your brothers. You shall guide souls into my creation, in the Seven Hells I create, into the waiting claws of my demons. You shall give hope that there is something beyond and then you shall make the mortals wish that once again there was nothing after their eyes fall into that final sleep."

The voice spoke into Tanzi's ears, low and mournful. " _ **War. Famine. Pestilence… Death. The Four Horsemen of Pandora. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We were under her command to shape the world in the way she saw fit. Puppets. Tools. Nothing more.**_ "

Pandora walked back up to the ornate box and looked at the brothers in turn, her eyes lingering on Kyros the longest. "I have bestowed upon you your power. Yet even this power is not enough of a reward. No… I shall reward you once again with the very thing you crave. _Me_. The four of you shall help me sire sons and daughters with Abilities that will change the foundation on which the world is built. The heirs of the world as we cast aside those who are useless to us."

Pandora stood gleaming in front of the four brothers before she was cast into darkness as it overtook the memory. Tanzi felt cold invade her very being and felt her heart skip a beat. She was alone in the darkness with no memory presented before her.

" _ **Pandora did as she promised. At least with War, with Famine, with Pestilence. Over the many generations she sired many sons and many daughters who would influence history and change the course of the world. People with Abilities. People like those who now stand to resist me… to kill me. Me!**_ " Death's voice grew angry again." _ **I refused her advances! Years upon years passed and I refused! I would not lay with the woman who lay with my brothers, I would not! Yet Pandora insisted and insisted and… and then… one night… one lonely, lonely night as I stood at the gates of the Seven Hells with nothing but sadness in my heart… She took advantage of me.**_

" _ **I only ever had two children and they grew so much more powerful than any of my brothers. Pandora and I created children who could rival Pandora's own powers. She wanted to raise them as her own disciples. I refused her.**_ _"_ A figure rippled into existence in front of Tanzi. Of Kyros clad in black robes clutching two small babes to his chest. " _ **I took my children from her. I declared war. It was me against my brothers and Pandora herself. So I looked to help from the only ones that were left. The mortals. To protect my children from her grasp, I helped the mortals! Pandora sent her Seven Generals of the Seven Hells, she sent War, Pestilence, and Famine, she herself walked upon the grass of the Earth and together the mortals and myself repelled them! Sealed her generals, cast my brothers into the Seven Hells, and dispersed Pandora into the very wind! She would never walk the Earth again, trapped with the seas, the coast her walls!**_

" _ **Yet, it seems, it was all for naught. I knew I could not raise my children so I gave them away. A mistake, I know now! Yet what else was I to do? I had to manage the gates of the Seven Hells, to ensure that my brothers would not escape, to stand guard. So I took the names of two children who arrived at my gates, two infants, dead at childbirth on the same day. I delivered them to the grieving parents. A miracle, they cried! A miracle! It was no miracle. It was cowardice that I could not raise them right.**_ " Kyros faded away to be replaced with two young toddlers, playing by themselves. One male, one female. Both familiar to Tanzi. " _ **I gave them the names of those deceased infants so the parents would raise them with the love and care they deserved. Robert Yates. Paige Calloway. Brother and sister separated with such great power inside of them. Yet Paige was caught under Pandora's spell… trapped as she was on the coast, her voice reached her.**_

" _ **She spoke to Paige, she coerced Paige, she led Paige… So I once again worked with man. The Oracle at the Lighthouse blessed with visions of the future. His own children showed Paige the light, told her how to be rid of Pandora's influence…"**_ The toddlers disappeared and now Death himself stood in front of Tanzi only he was moving, not frozen like the others. It seemed his emotions had gotten the better of him. " _ **I had trapped myself in the Seven Hells though. When Paige reached the limbo between this world and mine, I wanted to reach out to touch her. To speak to her. Yet I could not. It was the same with Robert. He, unlike Paige, had come to Limbo many a time and each of those times I could not touch them, so was my curse. Yet sooner rather than later Pandora started to break herself from the prison we gave her. I had to come back in physical form so I could find my children. So I could lead them to safety. Yet Paige has been corrupted. She believes my death will lead to salvation…**_ _"_

Death shook his head sadly. " _ **What will my death lead to? Apocalypse. The dead won't die. My brothers will be able to leave and they will sow their disaster upon the mortal world once more.**_ _"_ Death looked up to Tanzi. " _ **Is this what you wanted to see, Tanzi Sakamoto? Is this what you wanted to know? For what good will it do you? I sense it in your blood. You had remnants of my brothers' blood spilled from the rifts of attempted breakouts. Yet it is not strong like that other girl in the pyramid. No, yours is all used up. You saw your death and indeed you shall die. You will never tell my story. You will never tell anyone the truth of this pyramid, of Pandora and my brothers. So take a moment. Revel in this achievement of accessing my mind. I shall meet you at the gates of the Seven Hells shortly."**_

* * *

Tanzi felt strangely light as she withdrew her hands from the sides of Death's head. She tried to process everything she had seen but found herself coming to the conclusion that Death… he was not the enemy of humankind but the _saviour_. She fell to her knees on the cold stone floor, wondering if there was any way to get the message across to Paige. Killing Death was _not_ the answer. They had to work with him if they were to solve anything.

Death turned around slowly to look down at Tanzi and Tanzi looked up at him. She heard her name shouted but it felt a very long way away. She peered at Death's eyes in an attempt to understand him a little better. He never hated humans. It was in his nature to treat them differently, certainly, but he didn't hate them.

"That was foolish," Death's voice rang in her ears and Tanzi felt a sudden fear strike itself in her chest. This was it. This was what she had seen in Willow's mind. This was the future come present. This was the end. "What did you hope to achieve?"

Tanzi tried to open her mouth but instead the whole chamber turn sideways as she fell to the side, landing roughly on her shoulder. She looked past Death to see Bobby and Marianne at his side, watching with bemused expressions. Past them was the group standing by the sarcophagus, all of whom seemed frozen. Paige at the head, her eyes wide. Tanzi stared at her and tried to get across what she had seen, that Paige's father _loved_ her and only wanted her safe. That killing Death would bring about nothing but horror and pain.

Yet Tanzi knew… knew as her peripherals started to fade. Knew that Paige wouldn't get the message. That Tanzi's own death was going to be the last straw that incited chaos. As if still in memory, Tanzi found everything fading away, all senses gone until at last even her focus on Paige disappeared and she was in entire darkness, on the vestiges of the end. Yet she heard one more voice, an oh-so familiar voice, the voice of somebody whose optimism knew no bounds.

 _"Um, hi, I'm Ruby… I got an interview today?"_

The black flashed for but a moment to a diner thousands of miles away, where everything was peaceful and ignorant. There she was. Bright red hair. Bright smile. Bright… Bright everything. Ruby Ascot. A beacon in the darkness.

" _Hi, Ruby. The manager's just setting up."_

Ruby… Yes… As long as Ruby was in this world… as long as she was still here… the world would never plunge into darkness…

" _Of course… I'll, just, uh… wait here… Hey, what's your name?"_

…A beacon in the darkness…

 _"Tanzi. Tanzi Sakamoto."_

…Hope…

* * *

Death looked down at Tanzi Sakamoto's motionless form with sadness drawn on his dark face. He had never told anyone the origins of himself, his brothers, and Pandora. Yet he had actually _shown_ the girl the events that had transpired. He was confused. Why would he have done that for a girl destined to die? Perhaps it was _exactly_ because of that. Perhaps talking to a girl who was never going to pass on the information meant he could speak without fear, without judgement. Yet the memories had dredged up an intense sadness in him that Death hadn't felt for a very long time.

"Father!"

The call of Bobby drew Death back to the present and he turned around to come face to face with a metal fist traveling with the speed of a small car. Axel's fist hit Death so hard in the jaw that the robed figure was send skittering across the stone floor of the Pyramid, white teeth clattering against the stone with a grim tune. Axel let out a roar with such intensity that Marianne stumbled back in fear but Bobby Yates had none of that. He didn't believe in fear.

Bobby ran forward and looked as if he was going to try to tackle Axel down to the floor, a foolish proposition as Axel was in his metallic form. Yet Bobby showed smarts by sliding down to the floor and hooking both of Axel's ankles, dropping the big German to the floor with surprising ease. Bobby spun to his feet just in time to block an errant blow from Holly, who had followed in Axel's footsteps. Holly didn't like to think that she was on Axel's side but Tanzi had been extremely pleasant to her ever since her capture and now she felt an anger boil up inside of her.

Bobby blocked every blow Holly threw his way but it was clear that he couldn't get a blow out as he turtled behind his arms. Holly saw movement out of the side of her eyes and allowed herself to shift intangible. Marianne outstretched palms fell through her chest and nearly hit Bobby had he not skipped backwards to avoid her open palms. "Watch it!" Bobby spat. Marianne turned silently to reach for Holly again but Holly stepped to the side unable to hide her impressed smile as Jade stepped in and threw a big haymaker, clocking Marianne in the side of the face with such force that Marianne spun around before collapsing to the ground.

"You always were a cold bitch at school," Jade quipped before Bobby ran at her with a yell. Jade dived to the side and Bobby ran straight into a sharp jab from Zeina. He clutched at his throat and stumbled back, tripping over Marianne's unconscious body to land back-first against the floor. He cursed and rolled backwards, throwing his gaze to Death who was slowly getting up, his jaw twisted and broken.

"You fuckin' grade-a losers!" Bobby snarled, getting to his feet and shaking with fury. He stared at Jade, Zeina, and Holly. "Whadd'ya gonna do? Kill m—" A large hole suddenly burst through Bobby's right eye, spattering blood all over Jade's face. Bobby absently raised a hand to the now rather large hole in his head and with a muted, "…Fuck…" collapsed to the floor to reveal a man clad in black in the entrance of the chamber.

"You!" Zeina's eyes widened. It was the mercenary from Talon she had hired to kill Death. He _had_ managed to follow them all the way to Egypt. In his black garb, the man looked for all the world like the professional hitman he was. He moved his rifle to point it down at Marianne but Axel stood in front of him, metallic form flickering with torchlight.

"Nein. She is fallen." Axel growled.

"An enemy's an enemy, metal-man. Get out of the way."

Axel and the mercenary stared at each other before Paige shouted at them, "Stop arguing and keep Bobby covered! He'll come back, sooner than later!" Paige with the knife in hand walked over to Death as he stood up. His jaw was back in position and his teeth were full again.

"…Smart…" Death said as Paige approached. His eyes flickered to the knife in her hand. "You took them down with such ease. Military precision. I wasn't prepared for you to rebel against me so—" Paige walked up to Death and with all the force she could muster thrust the knife hilt-deep into his chest. Death's white eyes widened in shock as he stared at Paige's face set in stone.

"Enough talk," Paige whispered, pushing the knife even harder.

"...No remorse… no mercy…" Death shut his eyes, his face curled up in pain. "You are more like your mother than I ever wanted… I failed to guide you the way I ought to have." He opened his eyes again and reached up with a hand, placing it on Paige's cheek. "My daughter… my poor, poor daughter… You have doomed the world to Apocalypse…" Paige simply stared down at her father's eyes and felt the pressure ease off her cheek. She looked to Death's hand to see that it was turning into an ash-like substance, floating down to the concrete floor of the Pyramid. "…You will bring me back…" Paige let go of the knife to allow Death to stumble back. "…As Shishak did before you… the world you've sown… is a world of such disaster and pain… that you will _beg_ me to come back…" His entire arm was gone and now his chest was turning to ash. "My dear daughter… Do not weep… For the fault lies not in you… but the corruption your mother has planted within…"

With those final words, Death faded away into ash that fell into a small heap at Paige's feet, the knife laying on it with a faint glow to its blade. Paige looked down at it and felt something knot deep in her stomach. Her entire journey from her fall off the cliff in Eastbourne to right here and now in this Pyramid had led her to here, standing at Death's ashes but… the words he spoke. The expression Tanzi had on her face before she fell…

Had this been the right thing to do?

Had she truly doomed the human race to Apocalypse?

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Man, I've enjoyed Tanzi over Elimination Game and Last Laugh, to see her develop who she was and what she could do. I'll miss dear Tanzi. One more chapter, the Epilogue, to come, and it's gonna be a doozy, I'll tell ya that! See you then for the final chapter of Last Laugh!**_


	49. Epilogue - Resurrection

**Epilogue**

 **Resurrection**

At the most remotest island in the world at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 1,600 miles from the coast of South Africa, something peculiar was happening on the uninhabited land mass called Bouvet Island. It had become a nature reserve so the only witnesses to this event were the seals, birds and penguins that could handle the cold temperature of the glaciers that covered the island.

Three bleached white skulls with around three metres in between them were floating six foot above the icy terrain, rotating slowly as if they were on strings. Slowly but surely more bones began to appear from beneath these skulls – the spine, shoulder blades, rib cage – and the bones were soon followed by the cartilage, muscles, skin, and organs that made up the human body. Bright eyes formed into existence, black hair flowed down shoulders, and menacing expressions stood prominent on the dark faces of the three men that had appeared on this remote island.

"...So our dear little brother got himself offed again…" One of the three men spoke, the burliest and toughest looking of the men.

"Allowing our return," the sickliest of the three said, eyes ringed with black and his dark skin paler than the rest.

"We couldn't have come back somewhere more convenient?" The final of the three spoke, his body so thin that his skin hugged against his skeleton.

 _…This is the most convenient place, my loves…_

War, Pestilence, and Famine looked around the glacier in surprise but they could not see an owner to the feminine voice. War stepped forward towards the edge of the island where the water lapped against the rocky coast. "Pandora? You are still imprisoned?"

 _…Of course. Kyros was not so sloppy as to ensure that your freedom meant my own…_

"What do you need of us?" Pestilence asked.

"The destruction of mortal kind, of course!" War exclaimed with a fierce expression on his face.

 _…Of sorts, dear Akadios, of sorts. Yes, we shall reap destruction upon the mortals but we shall do it specifically in a way to make them suffer. Kyros' sealing has not only stopped the flow of souls into my Seven Hells, but has reversed the process. Souls are flooding back into this world with no place to go to except back to their mortal bodies – no matter how decrepit they may be. The dead will rise, my loves, and with our guiding hands we can ensure they cause devastation among these humans…_

 _…Maro, you will infect these dead so that they will spread the rotting disease of the undead on contact with tooth or nail. I want the mortals to be threatened by even one of these roaming dead. They will get cocky when they realise that they cannot die as usual, that their spirits remain resolute as the gates are closed so we will make them afraid of being changed into one of the shambling ones…_

 _…Prokles, you will give the dead hunger. Hunger for human flesh. This will ensure that the dead will seek out any of the living and convert them over to the other side. With Maro's disease and your hunger the plague will spread and overtake the world. Only a few of the many mortals will survive this outbreak…_

 _…Which is where you, Akadios, come in. You will sow distrust, suspicion, and aggression upon the mortals. They will stay in close-knit groups and only the most resistant of them will be able to bring others together. Yet most will refuse to help when others are in danger, will refuse to put their own lives on the line. Let us give these mortals another taste of what they experienced when the boy Shishak sealed Kyros. Only this time, it will last. The plague will spread and millions will die. For my daughter will not do as Shishak did, will not bring Kyros back. She is of my blood and she is of his blood and I know what she thinks. I spoke to her for many a year before that Oracle disrupted my efforts…_

"Another plague? Another outbreak?" Akadios smiled warmly. "A wonderful plan, Pandora. Yet what of you? What do we need to do to free you?"

 _…My dear Akadios, that is simple. My freedom is caused by the destruction of the seven totems. Yet I do not want any of you to destroy those totems. I want you to find out where my generals are hidden and to free them. The humans will do the rest. For the only way to kill my generals is to destroy their totems. By slaying the threats to their lives, they will bring back the biggest threat of all. My loves, they must suffer! I don't want to snuff out the candle, I want to watch it slowly burn to the wick! The mortals will extinguish themselves…_

* * *

Lisa Valentine stood in front of the closed glass doors of the tall grey building that for all the public knew was just another office building in Cairo, Egypt. Flanking her were three of her personal combat operatives: Oni with his demonic mask, Saint with his trench-coat and sword, and Wildfire with his half-mask revealing his flame-patterned hair. The door was so reflective that Lisa could only see herself and her team in front of it.

"Either Zeina has gotten extremely sloppy," Lisa said with a frown. "Or, as I expected, something has happened." For any DSI HQ, the processes were simple on visitors. Monitor the cameras and as soon as anyone came within thirty meters of the entrance send out somebody to see them in – or throw them out – depending on the situation. As soon as the camera above the door caught sight of Lisa there should have been an entourage of people welcoming a fellow CEO of the DSI.

The reports they had been receiving had stopped days ago and Lisa suspected that the latest reports weren't true either. They didn't seem to match the usual reports Zeina would give in the meetings held between the CEO's of the major DSI HQ's. She had tried to consult the Board of Directors but they had insisted nothing was wrong. Yet Lisa couldn't shake the feeling so upon returning from England she had decided to fly straight down to Cairo to check. If nothing was wrong, then it was an excuse to see a friend, if something was wrong then she would be able to find out what.

Without further pause, Lisa pushed her way through the silver door and immediately stopped. Saint drew his sword with lightning fast movements while Wildfire and Oni leaped in front of Lisa. Lisa looked between them at the receptionist who was slumped face down on his desk. There was nobody else in sight. A shiver ran up Lisa's spine as she walked over to the receptionist. He had been dead for quite a while. "Let's go," she said grimly, beckoning to her silent team. They had quickly taken up their positions and Oni and Wildfire led the way to the stairs.

They walked up the stairs all the way to the top floor; taking the elevator would certainly put them at a disadvantage if anybody were waiting at the top. They reached the top hall and saw that there was nobody waiting at the elevator. She couldn't hear any kind of movement at all. They moved towards the glass doors and Oni and Wildfire came to an abrupt stop.

"…Dios mio…" Oni muttered out from behind his mask, breaking his silence. This surprised Lisa as Oni was the least-spoken of her four combat operatives even when they weren't on missions. She quickly stood between he and Wildfire as Saint covered her flank.

Lisa's eyes scanned the open spaces lined with desks. At each desk there was a body, slumped just like the receptionist. No sign of blood, no sign of injury. It was as if they had all had a heart attack at the same time. It was the same as Zeina's report on the football stadium that they had to cover up. She had informed the rest that she had the situation handled but this… this didn't look handled. Lisa's frowned deepened as she strode up the centre of the floor, passing bodies of what had to be nearly every member of the Egyptian branch of the DSI.

She reached her goal at the end of the floor, the office of Zeina Morcos, and furrowed her brow. Zeina Morcos was not at her desk but there was a spread of dried out blood across the papers. Lisa walked to the other side of the desk and noted a hole in the window about the size of a tennis ball. She peered through it at a tall building far across from the HQ. Putting two and two together clearly made this a sniper shot but where was the body? If Zeina had been shot then she would have been at this desk.

Something clattered behind them.

Lisa spun around and she was immediately surrounded by her three soldiers. Wildfire to the left, Oni to the right, and Saint directly in front of her. She peered past them to see movement at each of the desks. The bodies of the men and women who were clearly dead were somehow rising from their seats with blank expressions. Saint's grip tightened on the handle of his sword as one of them turned and spotted the group of four before letting out a guttural scream of rage and diving forward, smashing straight through the window to charge at Saint.

 _Swish_. A flash of the blade and the head of the man went rolling across the floor as Saint flicked the blood off his blade.

"…That was only the first…" Lisa said with a grimace, drawing the pistol holstered at her hip under her jacket. The rest of the walking dead had made it into the centre corridor and each one let off a guttural scream that acted like a domino effect making each of them shout and yell in turn before the whole horde of undead sprinted full pelt at Oni, Saint, Wildfire, and Lisa Valentine.

* * *

Darkness. Deep, pressing darkness. The woman made sure to try and open her eyes but it was made certain that she was indeed deep in darkness. She couldn't understand where she was or why she was there. She desperately felt around the box that held her and started to grow more and more panicked. Had she been buried alive? That couldn't be true, could it? People would realise if she were alive before throwing her under the ground.

Then the woman's panic grew more pronounced as she beat on the cold metal above her face. She didn't know who _she_ was. She tried to think, tried to push through the murkiness that was her mind but all she remembered was pain, intense, mind-breaking pain. She opened her mouth and heard a scream reverberate around the box she was contained in but she didn't recognise it as a voice she knew.

She smashed her fists into the top of the box, kicked her feet and banged the back of her head into the box in the hope of somehow freeing herself from whatever containment she was in. Finally something gave way by her left foot and the woman peered down to see a crack of light – just enough to show her legs were bare. She kicked again and again until a square of metal fell away into a room filled with bright light that forced the woman to cover her eyes in pain.

Even blinded, she desperately pulled her way out of the small metal box and fell with a harsh thump against some kind of smooth floor. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked, looking around at the large chamber she was in. A flare of panic ran in her chest as she saw rows upon rows of short steel doors that reminded her of something… something relating to the dead, a morgue! It was like a morgue's body refrigerators lined in thousands across the massive wall. But why?

The woman scrambled to her feet and saw the chamber _did_ look like a morgue just absolutely gargantuan. She could see a door the size of a nail far in the distance on both sides of this plus-sized morgue. Why would this be a morgue? Was she dead? She couldn't be dead… she couldn't be… the woman shook her head wildly, her long blonde hair freely whipping against her neck. Blonde? The woman grabbed a handful of hair and looked at it before seeing that she was completely naked from forehead to ankle.

The woman paused, confused, but inklings of memory coming back to her. Memories from different parts of her life, she knew. A father with wire-rimmed glasses, a mother's cool laugh, dinner at some kind of restaurant, fire, flames, the rush of waves and the clear sight of a woman with bright red hair. This was the clearest memory and the woman focused on it. The face of the woman was friendly and trusting with short hair of the brightest red. A name… a name flowed over her and the woman knew before she even knew herself that this woman with red hair was named Ruby Ascot.

"…Ruby…" The woman tasted the name of her lips and knew it was a familiar name. A name that _meant_ something. But what? Who was she to know this woman? The woman looked closely at the square doors and saw that each had a small white strip that read a name. She quickly looked down to her own lying on the floor and saw in small black text, S. HOLLAND, 20. "…Ruby!"

In that instant, Sabrina Holland knew exactly who she was. She had no clue on why she was here or even where here was but she could remember it all as if it had just happened. The construction site, falling with the rest, murdering both Meagan and Lily, speaking to Ruby… _kissing_ her… dying for her… Sabrina's eyes were wide as she put a hand against her stomach and saw the long line extending across her belly. "Ruby…" Sabrina put a hand to her head. She had died, she had definitely died, she was definitely… somewhere… but where? She could remember pain but… Sabrina shook her head. It was like a bad dream, disappearing the more she tried to remember it.

 _One thing at a time._ Sabrina moved over to her steel box, her resting place, and saw a small a drawer under the bottom of the box where she had lain. She pulled the steel handle and saw with recognition the last things she had worn when she had died. She quickly pulled on her clothes (a difficult task, considering her hand was still mangled) before grabbing the only other possession sitting in the drawer – the knife. The knife that killed her. Sabrina shook her head again and stepped back, noticing her drawer was grouped with two others, surrounded by a coloured piece of tape. A quick look proved that other drawers were grouped in similar ways with different colours.

Sabrina read the two white strips and closed her eyes. Of course. Of course it was them. Who else would it be? Was this her own personal hell? M. THOMPSON, 20. L. TALBOT, 19.

"Help!" The voice came from the left and Sabrina recognised it immediately. The small square door to the left rattled desperately. "Is anyone there?!" The voice sounded just like Sabrina's had when she woke up. Scared, confused, not knowing who she was or where she was. Knowing that she would regret it, Sabrina reached up to the square door and opened it. A similarly naked young woman tumbled out, breathing hard with panicked eyes. She swung her head up to Sabrina. "Who are you!? What… Where…"

"Get dressed," Sabrina murmured, opening the drawer for the very confused but very clearly still moving, despite the fact Sabrina had strangled her to death with her own hand, Meagan Thompson. Sabrina turned away as Meagan stared down at her own body and gave out a panicked cry, reaching for the drawer and her clothes.

This one would be a lot harder to deal with. Meagan was one thing but Lily Talbot… Could it be? Sabrina shook her head. She didn't know why herself and Meagan were up and about. Didn't know what was going on. Surely it made sense for Lily to be awake as well? Sabrina took a deep breath and opened the square door.

Lily Talbot was definitely still dead. That was the conclusion Sabrina had to reach upon looking at the motionless slender body of the woman she had beat to death with the steel rebar. Sabrina couldn't even look at Lily's face, the memory striking her like her own knife in her belly. Whatever was going on, Lily wasn't part of it. Lily was gone. Dead. Just like she and Meagan should be.

"Sabrina Holland?"

Sabrina winced and turned around to look at Meagan Thompson. She was fully dressed but Sabrina could see the mottled bruises around Meagan's neck that would match her own hand.

"What is…" Meagan reached up to her neck and stared at Sabrina with wide eyes. "You killed me." It was matter-of-fact, no question about it. Sabrina couldn't blame her. "You…" Meagan shook her head and peered around the chamber they were held in again. "You _killed_ me. I… I wanted to help… to atone… for what I did and you… you…" Meagan's face twisted into that familiar anger, the anger that Sabrina had seen on top of the construction site. The anger slipped away quickly. "…I don't understand… Why…?"

However a cacophony of sound interrupted Meagan's emotions as if a hundred men were beating on a hundred steel drums. Meagan and Sabrina looked around the chamber, frightened, as nearly every single metal square door started to shake and rattle. Their occupants were trying to get out, just as Sabrina and Meagan had, but Sabrina felt something in her gut. She spun around as Meagan tried to understand what was going on and opened the drawer at the base of Lily Talbot's tray, pulling the black leather jacket out.

"We have to go."

"Sabrina, what the—"

"We need to go!" Sabrina insisted as a steel door broke free of its hinges on the other side of the room. A figure slid out and definitely didn't carry itself like Sabrina and Meagan had. It let out an intense scream. There wasn't any sign of their former selves. "Move it! Now!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:- Phew. So there we are. The dead have risen as we bring Final Destination - Last Laugh as well as the Final Destination Trilogy of The World's End Chronicles to an end. Things look dire for all our characters, yet there is hope, perhaps, as well. Sabrina and Meagan have returned to their unlives yet are surrounded on all sides by the dead that haven't come back to their senses. All mortalkind is in terrible terrible danger and I very much look forward to seeing how it will unfold in the stories to come!**_

 _ **Thanks to those of you who have followed me on this journey and for the reviews. It's a personal achievement of mine to finish this trilogy, to tell this Final Destination story, to finish Encore, bring back characters and use new ones for Last Laugh and Elimination game, to test the waters with the supernatural as we delve into the VERY supernatural that will be the Apocalypse trilogy, the last three books of the World's End Trilogy.**_

 _ **I'm not certain exactly when I will start the fourth book of the chronicles: APOCALYPSE: OUTBREAK. I want to get ahead of myself again, to ensure my chapters are written to the quality I expect, to be able to post them without having to panic about deadlines. But it'll come sooner rather than later, that's for sure. Keep an eye out as we continue the journey's of some, restart the journey's of others, and end the journey's of even more! Thank you, and see you next time as the Outbreak tears down humanity!**_


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